Mexican Street Corn Salad (Esquites)
Servings Prep Time
8servings 10minutes
Cook Time
15minutes
Servings Prep Time
8servings 10minutes
Cook Time
15minutes
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add corn kernels, season to taste with salt, toss once or twice, and cook without moving until charred on one side, about 2 minutes. Toss corn, stir, and repeat until charred on second side, about 2 minutes longer. Continue tossing and charring until well charred all over, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a large bowl.
  2. **If you use canned corn: Add 2 to 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil to a sauté pan. Pour in the canned corn. Cook over medium heat until the corn turns a light brown color. It will take about five minutes for the corn to brown.
  3. Don’t stir the corn more than once. It can be tempting to stir but roasted corn should sit in the pan to cook. If you must stir the corn, let it sit for three minutes, stir it once, then let it sit until a light brown.
  4. In a serving bowl, toss corn with mayo, cotija, lime juice, cilantro, and chili powder. Season generously with salt.
  5. Top with more cotija, cilantro, and a sprinkle of chile powder.
Recipe Notes

This is really good!  Be careful with the chili powder, it matures after it sits, so it may not taste like enough to start with, but give it a bit first.

Feta really does work equally well.

If you eat this right away, ti’s really good.  But if you let is sit for half hour or more, the chili powder really matures, and is a bit overpowering.  I changed the chili powder from the original recipe from 1 Tbsp to 1/2 Tbsp (1 1/2 tsp), and then I would suggest sprinkling just a bit over top on your plate.  Enjoy!