Esquites is a Mexican dish made from roasted corn, often served as a snack or street food. It is typically cooked in butter and can be flavored with hot peppers, lime juice, cilantro, and epazote. Traditional versions can be found in Tijuana and Baja California, while New York City offers its own variations with cayenne pepper and cheese.
Esquites is a dish named after a native Mexican Indian language called Nahuatl; the dish is made from roasted corn making it a useful snack for many who travel to Mexico and surrounding areas. The Nahuatl word izquitl was translated into the Spanish Esquiti.
In many presentations of this dish, he cooks the corn by boiling it first, then sautéing it in butter to provide the toasty yet edible texture of this food. In some cases, cooks may also serve this in the form of ears of whole grain similarly garnished with the same elements including toasted corn recipes. With the toasted corn snack, Esquites are often served in bowls, in what some cooks called “buttery broth.”
In some traditional areas where the Esquites originated, this food is sold out on trolleys or small roadside kiosks. As part of popular street food, Esquites represents many of the aspects of other street foods; the butter element makes this dish quite high in fat and quite tasty. In other presentations, this dish can be served indoors, for example, as part of a formal food event or a celebration of Mexican food or street food traditions.
In addition to butter, cooks often add a number of other ingredients to Esquites for additional flavoring. Some of these include several varieties of hot peppers, such as chipotles, jalepenos, and peppers native to their home areas, as well as lime juice. Aside from these, cilantro is often used for its distinctly fresh flavor, but another traditional Mexican herb is even more frequently included in the roasted corn dish. This is called epazote and experts describe it as having a pungent aroma and flavor that distinguishes the taste of the corn mix.
Those looking for authentic versions of this dish can get it in Tijuana and parts of Baja California, though some food experts say many of today’s food vendors are switching recipes away from traditional ones to cut costs. Travelers can often find this food item in the form of whole ears, where a grilled version may be sold as elotes asados and a form of boiled whole ear as elotes cocidos. Single-grain corn will often be sold as elotes desgranado and in the cup as elote de vaso. These versions may or may not contain some of the traditional herbs, but they give shoppers insight into how recipes for the dish have changed in Mexican street food culture.
Another of the most famous places to get this dish is in New York City where specific food vendors offer this dish to tourists and locals alike. In these versions of the dish, the cayenne pepper appears prominently. Some cheeses are usually added as well.
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