Chili's Street Corn

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Street corn is a browning dish pretending to be a creamy one. The flavour people are chasing — that slightly smoky, popcorn-like sweetness — comes from the corn kernels actually charring, and charring cannot happen in the presence of liquid.

Water boils at 100°C. Browning starts around 140°C. As long as there is free moisture on the surface of the corn, the pan cannot get above boiling point, and you are steaming it in a hot pan.

So the order is not negotiable: char first, dress second.

Getting a real char

Dry the corn thoroughly. Frozen corn especially — thaw it, then spread it on a tea towel and press. Tinned corn needs draining and drying too.

Hot pan, thin film of oil, and then leave it alone. Stirring is the other half of the problem. Corn that is being pushed around never sits against the metal long enough to colour. Give it two minutes untouched, toss once, another two minutes.

Do not crowd the pan. A deep layer of corn traps steam from the kernels underneath. Two batches in a normal frying pan beats one overloaded one.

A cast iron pan does this better than anything else because it holds its heat when cold corn hits it.

The dressing

Mexican street corn uses crema and cotija. Chili's version is closer to a mayonnaise-based dressing with a bit of sour cream, which is more forgiving and easier to source.

The lime goes in at the end, off the heat, for the same reason as everything else wet: acid added to a hot pan evaporates and you lose the brightness that is the point of it.

What you need

• 600 g corn kernels, fresh, frozen or tinned
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 3 tbsp sour cream
• 60 g cotija, crumbled, or feta
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 jalapeño, finely diced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• juice of 1 lime
• a handful of coriander, chopped
• salt

Method

1. Dry the corn properly. Spread it on a towel and press.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan until it shimmers.
3. Corn in, in a single layer. Leave it for 2 minutes without stirring.
4. Toss once, another 2 minutes. Repeat until there are dark spots across a good share of the kernels — 8–12 minutes total.
5. Off the heat. Let it cool for 2 minutes.
6. Stir through the mayonnaise, sour cream, chilli powder, paprika, cayenne, jalapeño and spring onion.
7. Lime juice, coriander, most of the cheese. Salt to taste.
8. The rest of the cheese and a dusting of chilli powder over the top.

Why let it cool for two minutes

Mayonnaise and sour cream both split when they hit a pan straight off the heat. You get an oily, grainy dressing instead of a creamy one.

Two minutes is enough for the pan to drop below the point where that happens, and the corn is still hot enough to serve.

Cotija, and what to use instead

Cotija is a hard, salty, crumbly Mexican cheese that does not melt. If you cannot get it, feta is the closest substitute — similar salt level, similar crumble, slightly tangier.

Parmesan works at a push. Cheddar does not; it melts into strings and turns the dish greasy.

Storing

Three days in the fridge. It is good cold, straight from the container, and it does not reheat well — the dressing splits and the char goes soft.

Do not freeze it.