Esquites Recipe: Mexican Street Food with Corn

In México, a great amount of our street food is made up of vegetables, fruits, and grains. We love to have baked sweet potatoes, baked plantains, fruit salads with cream, fruit with lime, salt, and dry pepper, drinks made with fruits, and of course, corn. Corn can be prepared in many ways, like fire-roasted, boiled, steamed, made into a cake, or with just the kernels served in a cup, like in this recipe.

Esquites Recipe

Most street vendors place themselves in strategic places where they know people will gather, like an outside the church on a Sunday morning, close to the main city plaza, in the town fairgrounds, and outside hospitals and public government offices. But my favorite place to get a snack is at the beach. You can go to Miramar beach on any weekend and find all sorts of vendors pushing their carts full of fruits, seafood empanadas, shaved ice cones, and, of course, corn on the cob. Like the ones in the pictures below:

Photo Courtesy of León Felipe Guevara Chávez

These pictures were taken at the beach in my hometown. The cart vendor sells corn on the cob and esquites (also known as trotelotes or troles).

How to make Esquites Recipe

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DIRECTIONS

• In medium-high heat, melt the butter in a skillet. Once melted, add the chopped onion and cook until transparent. (Please check the ingredients list below)

• Add the corn and epazote (if using),  serrano pepper, and ⅓ water. Stir and cover to cook, stirring occasionally. It will take between 6-8 minutes to cook. Check for doneness and do not overcook, corn kernels should be firm.

• Season with salt and serve in 4 cups. Top with cream and/or mayonnaise and cheese. If you don’t want to use the serrano peppers and use cayenne or chili powder instead, then add it at this point with some lime juice.

Serve warm and enjoy!!

Esquites Recipe

Mely Martínez - Mexico in my Kitchen

Tasty corn kernels served in a cup. In México, a great amount of our street food is made up of vegetables, fruits, and grains. We love to have baked sweet potatoes, baked plantains, fruit salads with cream, fruit with lime, salt, and dry pepper, drinks made with fruits, and of course, corn... Esquites Recipe.

5 from 3 votes

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Total Time 20 mins

Course Antojitos

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 4

Calories 277 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 3 cups of fresh cut corn kernels about 4 corn ears
• ½ cup Mexican sour cream or mayonnaise*
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup finely chopped white onion
• ⅓ cup water
• 4 tablespoon of chopped fresh epazote if available or dried epazote
• 1 serrano pepper optional
• 6 tablespoons crumbled queso fresco cotija or farmers cheese**
• Ground chili powder or cayenne pepper for topping
• Lime wedges optional
• Salt to taste

Instructions

 

• In a medium-high heat, melt the butter in a skillet. Once melted, add the chopped onion and cook until transparent.
• Add the corn and epazote (if using), serrano pepper, and ⅓ water. Stir and cover to cook, stirring occasionally. It will take between 6-8 minutes to cook. Check for doneness and do not overcook, corn kernels should be firm.
• Season with salt and serve in 4 cups. Top with cream and/or mayonnaise and cheese. If you don’t want to use the serrano peppers and use cayenne or chili powder instead, then add it at this point with some lime juice.

Serve warm and enjoy!!

Notes

This recipe is the way esquites are prepared in Central Mexico. In other states, the use of onion, serrano, and epazote is omitted. Instead, chili powder and lime juice are used alone the sour cream or mayonnaise.

* You can use either sour cream or mayonnaise or a combination of the two.

** In case none of this cheeses are available in your area, use grated parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 277kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 9gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 209mgPotassium: 400mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 763IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 160mgIron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

If you want to learn more about México’s street food, check out this Martha Stewart video about Street Food during her visit to México: HERE.

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