00:00Hello, this is Chef John from FoodWishes.com with Mexican Street Corn Dip.
00:08That's right, we're turning something called a lote into a very party-friendly dip.
00:13And other than on the cob with butter and salt, I think this is the best way to enjoy sweet summer corn.
00:21And to get started, let me show you what I think is the easiest way to get the kernels off the cob.
00:26And that would be to place a ramekin or a coffee cup upside down in a bowl.
00:30And then we'll stand the corn up and hold the tip, and we will carefully slice straight down.
00:36And with that ramekin at the bottom, our knife's able to go all the way to the bottom of the cob without hitting the bowl.
00:41And it makes for a really safe, fast way to do this job.
00:45Oh, and once we're done, I like to take the back of the knife and kind of scrape down,
00:49which is going to squeeze out a little bit of that really sweet, nice, starchy corn juice,
00:53which I would like to have going into my dip, and you should too.
00:57But anyway, no matter what method you use, we're going to need the corn from four years.
01:02And once that's set, we'll head to the stove, where we have a generous amount of olive oil set over medium-high heat.
01:08And what we'll do is transfer in our corn, and we'll kind of pat that down and smooth it out into a nice even layer,
01:14at which point we'll just leave it alone for a few minutes, or until it starts to lightly brown.
01:20And you know that started to happen when the corn starts to pop.
01:24So please be careful.
01:26And once that happens, what we'll do is give it a quick stir, and then add the rest of the ingredients,
01:31which will include some kosher salt, some cayenne, some freshly ground black pepper,
01:38a very generous amount of chili powder, plus a nice big pinch of oregano,
01:43preferably Mexican, but any oregano will do.
01:47And then we'll finish up with some finely diced red onion, and we'll go ahead and give everything a stir.
01:52And then we'll continue cooking, stirring occasionally for like two minutes.
01:55All right, for this dip, I do not want the corn well done.
01:59We are just taking off the raw edge.
02:01And what we'll do once this has cooked for a couple minutes is simply turn off the heat and let it cool down.
02:08And by the way, fair warning, that starchy corn liquid is going to kind of caramelize to the bottom of the pan
02:12and get kind of dark brown, and it's going to mix with those dark chili powders,
02:16and it's going to look like it's almost too dark.
02:19But trust me, it's not.
02:20And you'll see that when we mix everything together.
02:22But anyway, like I said, we'll turn off the heat and let that sit.
02:27And we'll move on to the actual dip, which is going to start with some room-temperature cream cheese.
02:32Oh, and no need to dirty another bowl.
02:35We can just use the one we use for the corn.
02:38We are also going to want some top-shelf mayonnaise, as well as a nice big dollop of sour cream.
02:43And then we will follow that with some garlic powder,
02:46as well as a generous amount of a finely grated Mexican cheese called cotija,
02:50which is sort of like a mild Parmesan, and you could definitely substitute that instead.
02:56And then what we'll do is go ahead and briefly spatulate this,
02:59just to sort of cream everything together,
03:01before we transfer in our corn and spice mixture.
03:04And we will also want to squeeze in at least one whole lime.
03:08And I know you're thinking that corn's too dark,
03:10but again, that's just the caramelization from the pan and that toasted chili powder.
03:15And you'll see, once we start mixing this,
03:17it's going to turn into this beautiful toasty orange color.
03:20But before we mix, let's toss in some freshly chopped cilantro.
03:25And that's it.
03:25We'll take our spatula and blend this until it's thoroughly combined.
03:29Oh, and speaking of dark charred corn,
03:32the original dish this is based on, which is called a lotte,
03:35is actually mostly corn that's charred over an open fire,
03:39and either sauced and spiced and eaten right off the cob,
03:42or shaved off at that point,
03:43and then tossed with the mayo and chili powder and lime, etc.
03:46And that is an incredible thing to eat.
03:49But like I said, we're going to turn this into a party dip,
03:51which is why we're stretching it out and using things like cream cheese.
03:55And of course, feel free to give it a taste now.
03:58But like all dips, after we wrap this and chill it in the fridge,
04:01we will give it another taste
04:03and decide if we want more spice or more lime or more salt.
04:06So this is just a little bit of a sneak preview before we wrap it up.
04:10And we'll go ahead and pop that in the fridge for at least an hour,
04:13but longer is probably even better.
04:15And while that was chilling,
04:17I decided to make an extra optional garnish for the top.
04:20So I threw a couple cloves of garlic and a sliced up Fresno chili
04:23into some avocado oil.
04:26And I added a pinch of salt and a little bit of smoked paprika.
04:30And then I pureed it nice and fine
04:32and eventually passed it through a fine strainer
04:34to make basically a very garlicky Fresno chili oil.
04:39And by the way, it's going to be very cloudy when you first make it
04:41because of all the air bubbles.
04:43But once you wrap this and let it sit,
04:45it will deepen in color and look much more like a chili oil.
04:49And while it is optional,
04:50I think that's going to be beautiful drizzled over the top of our finished dip,
04:54which at some point will be finished chilling.
04:56And if we're happy with how it tastes,
04:58and I was very happy,
05:00we will transfer that into some kind of serving platter or bowl.
05:03And then as far as garnishing goes,
05:05I'm going to sprinkle over some more of our grated cotija cheese,
05:09followed by, if we made it,
05:10some of our garlic Fresno chili oil.
05:13And instead of that,
05:14you could also do a fine dice of the Fresno chili.
05:16But I love how this looks,
05:18and it adds a little bit of richness,
05:20plus that little kiss of raw garlic,
05:23which will give us some aioli vibes.
05:25And then I finished up with a little more red onion
05:27before a final scattering of torn cilantro leaves.
05:32And that's it.
05:32Our lote-inspired Mexican street corn dip
05:35is ready to enjoy,
05:37which we really want to do next to a nice big pile of crispy tortilla chips.
05:42And I'm going to go ahead and grab one of those and dig in
05:45to see how we did.
05:47And that, my friends,
05:48other than being on the cob with lots of butter and salt,
05:51is my favorite way to enjoy sweet summer corn.
05:54Okay, the sweetness and crunch of that,
05:57paired with the heat from the cayenne and the chili powder,
05:59and that Fresno chili oil,
06:01is an amazing combo.
06:03With everything being balanced and cooled down a little bit
06:06by that creamy dip base,
06:08to me, this just makes for the perfect summer dip.
06:10And once you start eating this,
06:12you will quickly realize it is nearly impossible to stop.
06:16So I didn't.
06:17I just kept eating.
06:19And of course, I made this super spicy
06:21and put a ton of cayenne in.
06:23So I will probably list normal human amounts
06:25of the ingredients in the written recipe.
06:27But of course, everything is to taste.
06:30So please feel free to adjust everything to your liking.
06:33I mean, you are, after all, the wily coyote
06:35of this dip-inspired by Elote.
06:37But whether you adjust this or make it as shown,
06:40I really do hope you give this a try soon.
06:43So please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts,
06:47a printable written recipe,
06:48and much more info as usual.
06:50And as always, enjoy.
06:54And as always, enjoy.
06:54And as always, enjoy.
06:55And as always, enjoy.
06:55And as always, enjoy.
06:55And as always, enjoy.
06:56And as always, enjoy.
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07:04And as always, enjoy.
07:05And as always, enjoy.
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07:07And as always, enjoy.
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07:09And as always, enjoy.
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07:15And as always, enjoy.
07:16And as always, enjoy.
07:17And as always, enjoy.
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