All around the world, everywhere you turn, corn is a ubiquitous menu staple. In many places, corn on the cob has reached near-mythic status as a street food.
Corn Around The World
In Kenya they roll the hot, grilled corn in salt, lime juice, and minced chili peppers. As you would expect, it is incredible. So simple too! In Mexican culture, elote as it’s known, is loved everywhere… on every street corner in every state. While it’s hard not to love elote, it’s not exactly health food either. Smothered in salt, lime, chili, mayo (yes, mayo), cotija cheese and cilantro, this street corn is a special treat indeed.
Somalia does coconut curried corn, which is as delightful as it sounds. Fresh corn on the cob rests neatly in a boat of warm coconut curry sauce. Uruguay uses corn as a condiment for hot dogs, of all things, and in the Netherlands they make potato salad with it. Cambodia grills their corn with coconut milk, giving it a sweet decadence that pairs perfectly with the crisp sweetness of the corn. In Albania they put feta in their cornbread, which we’ve got to try one of these days, and in Venezuela they make fresh corncakes with cheese, that you could make a whole meal out of. We won’t tell a soul, promise.
This recipe for Bang Bang Corn offers up a little bit of sweetness, a little bit of spiciness, and a whole lot of flavor. If you’re familiar with Bang Bang Shrimp, you’ll definitely recognize the same bold and yummy flavors in this corn! We like to think this recipe might end up the next big thing on a happening street corner in some exotic locale.
Ready to dive in? Let’s make something delicious.
Ingredients –
- 1/2 c. sweet chili sauce
- 3 tbsp. melted butter
- 1 tbsp. sriracha
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Juice of 2 limes
- kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 ears corn, husks removed
- Freshly chopped cilantro, for garnish
Directions –
- Prepare the bang bang butter: In a medium bowl, mix together the chili sauce, butter, Sriracha, garlic, and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Slather the bang bang butter all over the corn.
- Heat your grill to medium-high. When grilling the corn, turn it and baste it periodically with the remaining bang bang butter. You’re looking for the corn to be tender and charred, 10 to 15 minutes or so should do it.
- Sprinkle some cilantro over the top, and enjoy!
