When it comes to food, Mexico has been a big influence on the United States. Today, Mexican restaurants make up 10% of total restaurants in the US, and that’s thanks to delicious dishes catching on, such as Mexican street corn. Elote, as it’s called in Mexico, is a savory snack made with a piece of corn on the cob that’s cooked on the grill, coated in mayonnaise or crema, then loaded up with cotija cheese and chili powder. It’s usually finished with cilantro and lime juice. The end result is as flavor profile bursting with every kind of flavor: salty, spicy, and sour with a hint of sweetness from the corn. While traditional elote is a popular snack, there’s a way to make it even easier to eat — try using baby corn.
Replacing a whole piece of corn with baby corn will give this snack a slightly different flavor and texture, but it will make it much easier to eat. You can still toss the corn in the same crema and seasonings, but now, you can grab a fork and not have to worry about the mess that comes from the usual dish. Corn has a rich history in Mexican cooking, from tortillas and tamales to the savory elote snack, and it’s a food that is celebrated in Mexican culture.
Turn elote into an easier snack with baby corn
Mexican street corn is usually made by sticking a skewer into the wide end of the corn cob; this makes it easy to hold, since it’s slathered in creamy mayonnaise. But the baby corn version eliminates the hassle of picking the corn up with your hands. You can use either fresh or canned corn for this snack, but know that fresh baby corn will need to be cooked in boiling water first. For the best flavor, pat the corn dry, then char it in a pan.
This dish comes together as more of a salad because it’s too difficult to spread the individual ingredients onto such small pieces of corn. For ease, make a mixture of the mayonnaise or crema paired with the cotija, lime juice, and chili powder, so it creates a thick dressing consistency. Either toss the corn in the mixture or pour it over the corn before serving.
If you can’t find baby corn, you can make this snack just using corn kernels. It will become more of an elote salad, but you can char the kernels, then toss them in the mixture to build the same flavor as traditional elote without having to eat it with your hands. Or, take these flavors and turn them into a warm elote corn dip at your next party.
