Esquites (Elotes in a Bowl)

Fresh vegetables are usually the basis of side dishes in our house, whether that's roasted Brussels sprouts or broccoli, or a salad. As such, vegetables have been the biggest culinary challenge during the pandemic. Since we limit our grocery store trips to every two weeks, any fresh vegetables we have left in the second week usually don't look too great. This is where frozen and canned products have to step in. These are the kind of things "foodies" tend to frown upon, sometimes for good reason. While some frozen vegetables are pretty hard to salvage, others can come to life with a little creativity. Peas, of course, are the staple frozen vegetable, but I've recently started experimenting with corn.

Ariel and I really fell in love with farm fresh sweet corn several years ago. One of the delights of summer in West Lafayette was buying a dozen ears off the back of a truck in the Pizza Hut parking lot. Unfortunately, once corn season is over, what shows up in the grocery store is a real disappointment, and when you can get it, it needs to be eaten immediately. Mexican-style elotes are one my favorite ways to make corn, but they rely on having good-quality corn, access to a grill, and a willingness to get mayo and cream in your beard. The solution: esquites, which are essentially elotes in a cup or bowl. One way to do this is to simply grill some corn and then cut off the kernels. Kenji has an interesting alternative, where he cuts the kernels off of raw corn, then cooks them in a wok. I had this in the back of my mind when trying to come up with a good side a few weeks ago and figured I would give it a go with frozen corn. The result was surprisingly delicious. Not as good as fresh corn by any stretch, but still really, really good. 

Everything in this recipe has a long shelf life, so it's perfect for pandemic cooking, as well as scratching the elotes itch in the winter. Cotija is a great cheese to have on hand. Like other hard, salty cheeses, it lasts for weeks in the refrigerator. The proportions and ingredients can easily be adjusted to taste. For example, I used sour cream because it's easily accessible, but Mexican crema can be used if available. If you have some fresh herbs from the garden, like chives or cilantro, go for it, but they're far from necessary. I served the esquites with adobo chicken quesadillas and a margarita. 

Fish Fillets with Corn Sauce (粟米斑塊)

I've been meaning to write this post since I started No Free Lunch. Fish fillets with corn sauce was one of my childhood favorites, which my dad made somewhat frequently. We just called it "corn fish." It was often one of the meals we had when I came home from college. He apparently discovered the dish in his own childhood in a restaurant in Hong Kong, where he shared a plate with my uncle. While it is not an iconic dish in the pantheon of Chinese cuisine, it certainly is to me. I found a few references to the dish, with the most common Chinese name being sumi bankuai, which I think means "corn grouper fillets." This hints at the fish originally used, so I think any firm, white, ocean-going fish would be appropriate. 

Creamed (or cream-style) corn is an interesting ingredient, though not an uncommon one. Despite the name, it does not contain cream, and the creaminess is all from the corn itself. While we Americans love it, corn is not a popular ingredient in Chinese cuisine. I think it's telling that this is a distinctively Hong Kong dish, which has had a long history of western influence. For the fish, you could use any white fish, but I usually use cod. This is probably the most accessible fish of the type we're looking for, and I had some individually packaged frozen fillets. As with most of my Chinese dishes, I used my homemade Chinese shrimp stock. Any kind of chicken or seafood stock would be also be fine here.

The way Dad always made this was a little different from what I did here. The fish were much larger pieces and battered similar to the fish and chips style. I decided to go the more traditionally Chinese route with a simple marinade and corn starch dredging. This is based on what I did for fish slices with tomato sauce, a similar Cantonese fried fish dish from Pei-Mei's Chinese Cook Book. I like the smaller pieces, as its easier to eat with chopsticks, but the battered version is extra crunchy. You won't go wrong either way.

Mexican Street Corn (Elotes)

Although I've wanted to make these for a long time, this recipe was inspired by eating a delicious cup of Mexican street corn from a food truck in Michigan City last weekend. The timing was good, as the local farmers selling sweet corn in the Pizza Hut parking lot have just set up shop. Now that I've tried it, I'm convinced this is a fantastic way to eat corn. As the name suggests, elotes are a street food in Mexico. Of course, they are also quite a mess to eat, so the version in a cup, known as esquites, are also an option. You could simply follow this recipe, but cut the kernels off and mix in the coating ingredients. Either way, making street corn is very easy and a great way to shake up your corn-eating experience.

I bought two new ingredients for this recipe. Crema Mexicana, or Mexican cream, is a cultured cream mostly interchangeable with the French crème fraîche. Compared with sour cream, the flavor is milder and the texture is looser.

Cotija is a hard, crumbly Mexican cheese made from cow's milk. The cheese is salty, and squeaks a little when biting in, kind of like cheese curds. It can be crumbled by hand. If unavailable, substitute another hard, crumbly cheese. A lot of recipes use parmesan. If doing this, I would definitely try to get a good, strong Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy. I found both of these ingredients in the regular supermarket. The crema was located with some other Mexican products, such as tortillas and queso fresco, while the Cotija was in the cheese section.

Ingredients

• 4 ears corn
• 1/4 cup crema Mexicana or crème fraîche
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• Chili powder to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled cotija or parmesan
• 1 lime, quartered into wedges

Instructions

Remove husks and hair from the corn, but leave the stem attached. This will act as a handle once the corn has been dressed. Preheat the grill and brush oil on the grate. Grill the corn on a relatively high flame with the cover down. Turn occasionally until all sides are browned. 

While the corn is cooking, mix the crema and mayo together. Once the corn is done, spread the mixture all over the corn. Dust with chili powder, then sprinkle the cheese all over. You may want to press the cheese in so that it sticks to the cream. Finally, squeeze the lime on the corn.