One of my favorite snacks from street vendors in Mexico is elote, those ears of tough, barnyard feed-grade ears of corn, steamed or boiled until hot and then rolled in mayonnaise, before being sprinkled with a combination of hot chile, cheese, and a squeeze of lime. Who would do such a thing to an ear of corn, you may ask, who would commit such an indecent atrocity toward a humble vegetable? We all should.
The combination of sweet corn, spicy chile, and salty, crumbly cheese is addictive, and is something that I thought would translate well to a warm salsa, or can even be served on its own as a side dish. And since scallops and corn are such good friends, I thought combining the two made a lot of sense, with a quick jicama and cucumber slaw thrown in to keep the textures from all being too similar. I serve these on my food truck, ‘Wich, Please, occasionally, and we sell out every time. Here’s how we do it:
- 20 large scallops, halved (about 2 lbs)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups fine dry breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 10 corn tortillas
- 1/4 large jicama, julienned
- 1 english cucumber, peeled and julienned
- Lime juice, to taste
- 4 ears of corn on the cob
- 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Ground chipotle pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
- Squeeze of lime
- Set up your dredging station. Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Working in batches, dredge scallops in flour mixture. Combine eggs and milk; beat well. Dip scallops into egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs. Fry scallops in deep hot oil (350°) until golden brown; drain on paper towels.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl, tossing to combine until well coated.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add corn and cook until water comes back to a boil. Immediately remove corn from water, and toast a few ears at a time in a dry skillet, until char marks appear.
- Using a sharp knife, cut kernels from each cob into a large bowl. While corn is still very hot, add mayonnaise, butter, ground chipotle, and feta. Stir well to combine, and taste, Add more chipotle as needed for desired spiciness. Serve with a wedge of lime.
- Warm tortillas in a dry skillet, until soft and pliable, with a few brown marks. To assemble each taco, place four pieces of scallop on each tortilla, followed by a scoop of the Jicama Cucumber Slaw, and then finished with another scoop of Mexican Street Corn salsa and sour cream or Mexican crema, if desired.
