Destination
Puerto Vallarta
The story
Tostiesquite is Oaxaca's recent — and delicious — mash-up of two street snacks: the crisp tostada and the hot creamy esquite. A large corn tostada (fried flat tortilla) is used as a plate. It gets a heap of just-toasted corn kernels seasoned with chile, epazote and salt, then a drizzle of mayo and crema, a scatter of crumbled queso fresco, a heavy dust of chile powder and a squeeze of lime. What arrives is a plate that eats like a knife-and-fork nacho: the tostada shatters when you cut into it, the corn is hot and creamy, the toppings are cold, the flavours crash together in ways that shouldn't work but do. Sold at every night market in Oaxaca and increasingly across the country as street-food fusion has taken off.
Method
Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Fry each corn tortilla 60 seconds per side until crisp and pale golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Season lightly with salt.
Warm the oil in a wide heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the epazote and habanero. Cook 30 seconds. Tip in the corn in a single layer. Do not stir for 3 minutes to let the base kernels char. Stir and cook another 5 minutes, until the corn is toasted and lightly charred in patches. Season with salt. Discard the habanero and epazote sprigs.
Off the heat, keep the corn warm — this dish assembles fast.
Arrange 2 tostadas per plate.
Onto each tostada, mound 3 to 4 heaped tbsp of hot toasted corn. Do not over-fill — a tostada holds so much before it breaks.
Drizzle each tostada with a spoon of mayonnaise and a spoon of crema. Do not mix.
Scatter each tostada with a heavy pinch of crumbled cotija. Dust generously with Tajín or chile piquín. Squeeze half a lime over each tostada.
Top with chopped coriander, chopped epazote and optional avocado or pickled onion. Serve with lime wedges and habanero salsa on the side. Eat within 3 minutes — the tostada goes soggy fast.
Tips
- Serve immediately. This is the single most important rule. A tostiesquite sitting for 5 minutes is a wet mess. Assemble to order, plate, eat.
- Toast the corn hard. Charred kernels are the flavour marker. Don't over-stir on the pan; let the base kernels catch and colour.
- Cotija cheese, not feta if you can help it. Cotija is aged, dry, crumbly and salty — perfect for a corn topping. Feta is a substitute but has a different (Mediterranean) flavour profile.
- Kewpie mayo is a modern street favourite. Some Mexican stands have adopted Japanese mayo for its extra richness. Full-fat mayo (Hellmann's, Kraft) works fine.
- Habanero on the side. The habanero cooked with the corn provides mild warmth. If you want fire, offer habanero salsa in a small dish alongside for those who like it hot.
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