An ancho pepper is a hot yet slightly sweet dried poblano pepper. The use of ancho peppers is common in Mexican cuisine, and you can use ancho peppers in various recipes at home. Most often, you will need to chop an ancho pepper before using it in cooking, however.
Instructions
1. Cover your work surface with a cutting board.
2. Slice the softened ancho pepper in half with a sharp knife.
3. Place half of the ancho pepper skin side up on the cutting board.
4. Cut the ancho pepper lengthwise into thin strips using the sharp knife.
5. Turn the cutting board ninety degrees and cut the ancho pepper into thin strips perpendicular to the cuts you made in Step 4.
6. Rock your knife over the pepper to chop it into a very fine texture. To rock a knife, hold the knife's handle with one of your hands and place your other hand on the back of the blade of the knife. Move the knife across the pepper pushing it up and down as you go.
7. Move the cutting board another ninety degrees and rock your knife back over the pepper as described in Step 6.
8. Repeat Steps 3 through 7 for the other half of the ancho pepper.
9. Use the finely chopped ancho pepper in your favorite recipe.
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