Esquites is a creamy Mexican street corn salad that is so easy to make and takes about 15 minutes to make. It is an excellent recipe for the kids, as well as my boys, who really loved them.
When thinking of the alphabet E, the choices were many. I had plans to make Empanadas, but they’re already made and blogged about. Then I wanted to make something with Ellu (sesame), but I had better plans for its usage. That is how I landed on this, Creamy Mexican Street Corn Salad.
Everything seemed right about this Creamy Mexican Street Corn Salad. I knew the boys would love it. I had all the ingredients that I needed, but I postponed making it for so long.
We traveled all last week. My Elder son sang at a very prestigious Indian Music festival that happens in Cleveland every year, and we were gone all week for that.
I came back, and the schools remained closed because of the teachers’ strike. It just felt like the days were moving so fast, and before I knew it, I was writing the recipe for alphabet D - Double Ka Meetha.
I learned one thing: never postpone a dish thinking it is an easy one and can be made in a few minutes. You never know what will come, and even a pleasurable, easy recipe will feel like a big job.
I quickly made this salad yesterday for lunch, along with roti and Mixed Vegetable Kurma . The boys were really excited to eat the salad, just as I expected, but were very upset that I did not make enough to eat for a snack that afternoon.
That is a good problem to have, and I promised the boys that I will make this for their lunch boxes right after school re-opens. Not sure when that is going to happen.
Our districts have declared that the school will be closed on Monday. As I am writing this, I am planning what to cook on Monday that will satisfy the boys and also work in my favor.
This is a very simple, authentic Mexican street food, and quick to make. It takes 20 minutes from start to finish, and the best part is that we can make it year-round using frozen corn kernels.
Once summer is here, I will be making it with fresh corn. If you have canned corn in your pantry, go ahead and use that. It will taste just as good. The only trick to make it taste awesome is to let the corn caramelize and get a light char all around.
Let’s check the recipe for Creamy Mexican Street Corn Salad. Before that, check out what I have been doing for the other alphabets so far -
My Other Posts in the A - Z Explore the Flavors Series
A for Akki Roti
B for Baghrir with Orange Butter Sauce
C for Chickpeas Shawarma
D for Double Ka Meetha
Preparation time - 5 minutes Cooking time - 15 minutes Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Esquites - Serves 3
- Corn kernels - 2 cups (frozen or fresh)
- Oil - 1 tablespoon (olive oil or vegetable oil)
- Jalapeno - 1 tablespoon (deseeded and finely chopped)
- Garlic - 1 clove (finely minced)
- Red chili powder - ½ tsp
- Sour cream - 2 tbsp
- Mexican blend cheese - 2 tbsp
- Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
- Salt - to taste
- Cilantro - 4 tablespoon (finely chopped)
Procedure to make Creamy Mexican Street Corn Salad -
I used frozen corn to make this Salad. Heat a heavy pan, preferably a cast-iron pan, on medium-high heat.
Add the oil to the pan, and when the oil starts to smoke, add the corn kernels. Mix it well and let it caramelize / roast on one side.
Then mix it well and let it roast on the other side. I left it for 3 to 4 minutes without disturbing it and then mixed it and did the same until it was uniformly caramelized all over.
- At the end of the cooking time, add the minced garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, and salt and mix well. Let it cook for a minute and then turn off the flame.
- Add the sour cream, lemon juice, cilantro, and cheese, and mix them well.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes and Observation -
- I used frozen corn kernels to make the Esquites recipe. It worked great. You could use fresh corn kernels or canned ones as well.
- Make sure that you let the corn get a slight char all over. That makes the Esquites very flavorful.
- We could use mayonnaise or Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. We could skip it altogether as well
- The actual recipe calls for crumbly Mexican cotija cheese. Feta would work well as well. I ran out of my feta stock and hence used Mexican blend cheese.
- Don’t skip the chili powder. It adds a zing to the salad.
Other Street-Food Recipes
- Onion Bhajias - Deep Fried Onion Fritters
- Kenyan Potato Bhajia Recipe
- Cassava Chips | Yuca Chips |Maravalli Kizhangu Chips
- Zeppole | Zeppoli - A Popular Italian Street food
Recipe
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 cups Corn kernels frozen or fresh
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Oil olive oil or vegetable oil
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Jalapeno deseeded and finely chopped
- ▢ 1 Garlic 1 clove finely minced
- ▢ ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- ▢ 2 tablespoon Sour cream
- ▢ 2 tablespoon Mexican blend cheese
- ▢ 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- ▢ Salt to taste
- ▢ 4 tablespoon Cilantro finely chopped
Instructions
- I used frozen corn to make the this Salad. Heat a heavy pan, preferably a cast iron pan on medium high heat.
- Add the oil to the pan and when the oil starts to smoke, add the frozen corn kernels. Mix it well and let it caramelize / roast on one side. Then mix it well and let it roast on the other side. I left it for 3 to 4 minutes without disturbing and then mixed it and did the same until it was uniformly caramelized all over.
- At the end of the cooking time add the minced garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and salt and mix well. Let it cook for a minute and then turn off the flame.
- Add the sour cream, lemon juice, cilantro and cheese and mix it well.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- I used frozen corn kernels to make this. It worked great. You could use fresh corn kernels or canned ones as well.
- Make sure that you let the corn get a slight char all over. That makes the Esquites very flavorful.
- We could use mayonnaise or Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. We could skip it altogether as well.
- The actual recipe calls for crumbly Mexican cotija cheese. Feta would work well as well. I ran out of my feta stock and hence uses Mexican blend cheese.
- Don’t skip the chili powder. It adds a zing to the salad.
Nutrition
More Mexican Recipes
- Vegetarian Tortilla Casserole | Mexican Tortilla Pie
- Homemade Salsa - Quick and Easy
- Mexican Wedding Cookies | Hazelnut Butter Balls
- Fiery Habanero Sauce
Esquites | Creamy Mexican Street Corn Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups Corn kernels frozen or fresh
- 1 tablespoon Oil olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon Jalapeno deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 Garlic 1 clove finely minced
- ½ teaspoon Red chili powder
- 2 tablespoon Sour cream
- 2 tablespoon Mexican blend cheese
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- Salt to taste
- 4 tablespoon Cilantro finely chopped
Instructions
- I used frozen corn to make the this Salad. Heat a heavy pan, preferably a cast iron pan on medium high heat.
- Add the oil to the pan and when the oil starts to smoke, add the frozen corn kernels. Mix it well and let it caramelize / roast on one side. Then mix it well and let it roast on the other side. I left it for 3 to 4 minutes without disturbing and then mixed it and did the same until it was uniformly caramelized all over.
- At the end of the cooking time add the minced garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and salt and mix well. Let it cook for a minute and then turn off the flame.
- Add the sour cream, lemon juice, cilantro and cheese and mix it well.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- I used frozen corn kernels to make this. It worked great. You could use fresh corn kernels or canned ones as well.
- Make sure that you let the corn get a slight char all over. That makes the Esquites very flavorful.
- We could use mayonnaise or Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. We could skip it altogether as well.
- The actual recipe calls for crumbly Mexican cotija cheese. Feta would work well as well. I ran out of my feta stock and hence uses Mexican blend cheese.
- Don’t skip the chili powder. It adds a zing to the salad.
