Esquites: Two Ways 

Mexico’s incredibly popular esquites offer challenges and choices for those of us who live in the U.S. First, know that those street vendors’ simmering pots of esquites and grilled ears of corn (yes, they’re often sold together) are made from immature, “milk stage” field/grain corn, not from tender sweet corn. That may come as a big surprise, especially if you weren’t yet aware that the starchy (grain) corn used to make corn meal is a very different variety than the tender (vegetable) corn we eat off the cob. In the U.S. sweet corn is typically our only fresh corn option, which means ours will have a different taste (less savory, sweeter) and texture (less toothsome, more tender).
Here is the recipe: www.rickbayles...
Next, a brothy cup of corn-seasoned with epazote, chile, mayo, crumbled cheese, lime-eaten as a street snack is hard to categorize for North Americans. Is it a soup? Is it a “side?” A side to what? North of the border there’s nothing quite like it.
And finally, while the brothy version is by far the most common, there’s a fried version that pops up all over Mexico City and surrounding states. The seasonings are similar to the brothy version, but the end result looks more like a side of corn dressed like classic Mexican street corn. To make it, I fry the kernels in fresh-rendered lard or butter with some chopped onion, epazote leaves and crushed chile. When browned, I season them with salt and serve in small bowls with a dollop of mayo, a spoonful of the crumbled cheese and a squeeze of lime.