Recipe
These Esquítes-Style Corn Ribs Make For An Impressive Side Dish
Esquítes is Mexican street corn salad — kernels of corn slathered in mayonnaise; tossed with crumbled cheese, lime juice, chile powder, and cilantro; and served up in a cup. Esquítes may not be on every street corner in Tijuana, but every other street corner might not be too much of a stretch. When I staged at La Justina on Tijuana’s Avenida Revolución, esquítes was one of the dishes I was responsible for.
That was only a few years before New York’s Momofuku Ssäm Bar first brought corn ribs — a deep-fried strip of corn kernels held in place by a sliver of the corncob — to the attention of America’s dining public. TikTok took it from there and made corn ribs a bona fide fad. Fried, baked, or grilled, they suddenly seemed to be everywhere. And they seemed to me like a natural delivery vehicle for corn done up esquítes-style.
Corn Ribs Esquites-Style
- Prep Time: 8 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 33 mins
- Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 ears fresh corn shucked
- Kosher salt
- 2 ounces Cotija feta or Parmesan cheese finely crumbled or grated
- cup thinly sliced green onions green parts only
- cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 medium jalapeño chile stemmed seeded and finely chopped
- 1 or 2 medium cloves garlic crushed and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise page 255
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- Chile powder guajillo ancho or a mixture