Mexican Street Corn Salad
This tasty Mexican street corn salad, also known as esquites, is spicy, tangy, and incredibly delicious. If you enjoy Mexican corn on the cob then you will love this salad.
I recently found this Mexican street corn (esquites) recipe on Serious Eats that sounded really tasty. This quick and easy salad was thrown together in less than 30 minutes and it paired nicely with green chile chicken and loaded black beans.
How to Make Mexican Street Corn Salad (Esquites):
Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the corn kernels and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste; toss once or twice and cook without moving for about 2 minutes, or until charred on one side.
Toss corn and repeat until charred on the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Continue tossing and charring until the corn is charred all over, about 10 minutes in total. Transfer to a large bowl to cool a bit.
Add the cheese, cilantro, green onions, jalapenos, garlic, mayonnaise, lime juice, and chile powder, to taste; toss until evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, chile powder, or lime juice, to taste, if needed. Serve and enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 ears of fresh corn, shucked & kernels removed **About 3 cups of corn kernels
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 2 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2-3 green onions, green parts only, sliced
- ½ jalapeno, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, finely minced
- 1-2 tbsp mayonnaise, to taste
- Juice from 1 lime
- Chile powder, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Add the corn kernels and season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste; toss once or twice and cook without moving for about 2 minutes, or until charred on one side.
- Toss corn and repeat until charred on the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Continue tossing and charring until the corn is charred all over, about 10 minutes in total. Transfer to a large bowl to cool a bit.
- Add the cheese, cilantro, green onions, jalapenos, garlic, mayonnaise, lime juice, and chile powder, to taste; toss until evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, chile powder, or lime juice, to taste, if needed. Serve and enjoy.
Such a beautiful and filling salad! What other cheese can you use instead of cotija? Not sure cotijia is available here.
Angie,
Any Mexican dry/crumbly cheese like Queso Fresco or Anejo would work well but if you can’t find them, try Parmesan or feta, although feta would make it more creamy than crumbly. I hope this helps.
-Pam