The Dish: Mexican street corn from La Placita Food Truck at Cherry Street Pier
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Time now for The Dish and we're talking about a summertime classic: Mexican street corn.
It's fresh, cheesy, tangy and stars one of the season's most glorious local veggies: corn!
To find how to make it quickly and easily with only four ingredients, I head to La Placita's food truck at Cherry Street Pier.
"La Placita, in Spanish, is just a small square," says owner Mariangeli Alicea. "It's a small square where people meet and mingle."
And at her food truck, Alicea is bringing a Puerto Rican pastime to Cherry Street Pier.
"It's called chinchorreo," she says. "It's like a party with friends where you go out and try street food from different spots on the island. This is a custom where in the summertime, people just meet at the square and enjoy food, music and people's company. That was the vibe that we wanted to bring to Cherry Street Pier."
Alicea's food truck is just up the pier from her husband Chef Dionicio Jimenez's truck. The couple was contracted by the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation to activate the pier. Together, they own the James Beard-nominated Cantina La Martina in Kensington.
He's from Mexico, she's from Puerto Rico, and they're each bringing their own flavors to the pier.
"We love the competition," she laugh. "We're comparing throughout the day, who is doing better."
Alicea says her journey to this moment has been a surprising one.
"When I came to the States, I did not go to school to be in the food industry or to be a chef, but life put me in the restaurant industry," she says.
Alicea studied architecture in her native Puerto Rico. She moved to Philadelphia 15 years ago and fate intervened.
"I was literally thrown into it and had the opportunity of working with many chefs," she explains.
One of them, ended up becoming her husband. Right now, they're also working to open their first suburban restaurant in Ambler, Montgomery County.
"I think what is exciting is to be creating projects that have a meaning deeper than just cooking food for people," she says. "It's about sharing your story or your life experience and culture with the people and the friends that you meet along the way."
At La Placita, Alicea taught us to make her Mexican Street Corn.
It has just four ingredients, starting with the corn.
"The corn has already been boiled with a little bit of water and salt to get the tenderness that you like. Then, you take a (skewer) stick and insert it into the bottom," she says.
That stick also comes in handy when you pop the corn on the grill. Make sure you get a char on all sides.
Next, make or buy a chipotle mayonnaise.
"Take a brush and cover the corn on all sides," she says. "This is what makes the queso fresco stick to the corn."
Queso fresco is a semi-soft, fresh Mexican cheese. Make sure it's super crumbly.
"You can buy it already crumbled, or you can buy the whole wheel and then just crumble it," she says. "You can also use the grater and grate it."
Alicea says to be very generous with it and pack it on.
Then, sprinkle it with Tajin, a Mexican seasoning blend of chilies, lime and sea salt.
"Add as much as you like," she says. "This adds a little bit of citrusy flavor to it, and a little spicy kick."
Finally, time to walk around and enjoy! Just as they would on the island.
