Walking down my hometown of Puerto Vallarta’s malecón—the picturesque boardwalk by the sea where the waves crash a few feet away from you—you will eventually see a row of street vendors cooking leafy ears of fresh corn. Some grill the cobs over charcoal, and some cook them in huge stockpots that sit over a fire. In front of each corn vendor’s setup, you’ll find half a dozen types of salsa—bottled sauces like Valentina and Huichol, a bright version made with lime juice and crushed dried chile, and this: an aromatic oil-based salsa chock-full of crushed tortilla chips, peanuts, and sesame seeds. It’s called Salsa de Totopos, and I want to put it on everything.
Salsa de Totopos could be considered the cousin of Salsa Macha, Salsa Tarasca, or Salsa Mulata. They’re all regional variations of oil-based salsas, made with toasted dried chiles, nuts, and seeds. In Puerto Vallarta, you often find a version of this salsa with seafood or with pozole at late-night cenadurías. But my favorite version of this sort of salsa, with the brilliant addition of crispy tortilla chips, is often made just for esquites.
Some vendors slice tortillas into strips and fry them fresh to make the salsa, while others use bagged tortilla chips; both give you that desired crunchy result.
When you order your cup, the vendor will first add a spoonful of freshly shaved corn—the sweet, cooked kernels removed from the cobs—then a ladleful of sweet corn stock, a smear of Mexican crema, mayonnaise, salty crumbled Cotija cheese, and a generous squeeze of tart lime juice. They will hand it over to you to decide which salsa you desire as the finishing touch. But trust me: This salsa is exactly what you want on your street corn. The tortilla chips add a layer of crunchiness; the finely ground up guajillo chiles, peanuts, and sesame seeds contribute a welcomed nuttiness, and the fruity heat stands up to the fluffy Cotija cheese and tangy crema.
If you can’t make it to Puerto Vallarta this summer, let this recipe give you a taste. Here, the street corn becomes the centerpiece, freshly cooked, sliced in wide slabs, and gently layered with the creamy ingredients. The salsa is drizzled on at the end, then you hit it with fresh lime juice. No corn at your local market yet? This salsa also is great with seafood—try it on grilled fish—and it has a way of elevating even the most everyday quesadillas.
