Esquites Shrimp Chowder

This delicious soup combines the flavors of Mexican street corn, spicy, smoky grilled shrimp, and velvety corn chowder. Pair it with a green salad and crusty bread for a veggie-forward meal that tastes like summer.

Make It A Project Or Make It Simply

You can take a weekend and dig into making each component or take some shortcuts. Both are delicious, but I suggest making each soup part for even more flavor and richness when you have time.

Marinating and grilling fresh shrimp allows you to control the heat level in your chowder. Grilling the shrimp adds a subtle smoky note.

Cooking the corn on the cobs, along with a few aromatics and the shells from the shrimp, deepens the flavors of both the corn and shrimp. It’s a great way to add flavor by utilizing scraps.

Finally, tossing some of the corn kernels with lime, Cojita cheese, cilantro, and spices makes a garnish that’s not only attractive but adds texture and flavor. 

So don’t let the list of ingredients or specified time deter you. You can whip up this chowder in about 30 minutes with a few shortcuts.

What Is Esquites?

Esquites is a Mexican dish with the flavors of Elote – Mexican grilled street corn on the cob. For esquites, the kernels are off the cob and mixed with mayonnaise or crema, Cojita cheese, lime juice, and spices like chili powder and cumin.

It’s served in paper cups and is eaten with a spoon as you walk the streets. Each region of Mexico has its own take on the recipe – some have cilantro, some diced chiles, and others use broth. In my opinion, they’re all delicious!

What Shortcuts Can I Take?

1. Purchase pre-cooked shrimp and toss it with one tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of pre-packaged taco seasoning. Skip steps 1-4 in the recipe and continue with step 5.
2. Use boxed chicken or vegetable stock instead of making corn/shrimp stock. You can bump up the shrimp flavor by using one shrimp bouillion cube with the chicken stock. Proceed to step 18.
3. Use frozen corn kernels, which can be sauteed along with the aromatics.
4. You can usually buy diced onions and bell pepper in the produce aisle or in the freezer section, and a 4-ounce can of diced chile saves having to mince a jalapeno. You can also find cilantro or parsley in a paste form to save having to wash and chop the fresh herbs. The paste tubes can be found in the herb section of the produce aisle.

Ingredients Needed

• Shrimp – any size works. I like to get jumbo shrimp for the chowder because they’re easy to grill and slice into thirds. If I have time to make the corn/shrimp stock, I will get ¾ pounds with no head but still have the shell and tails and a ¼ pound of whole shrimp with the head. Using the heads in the stock amps up the shrimp flavor.
• Olive oil
• Bacon fat or butter – this is used to saute the corn and vegetables for the soup. I like using the bacon fat for more flavor.
• Heavy cream – you could also use half and half or whole milk. I’ve used all three with great results.
• Sour cream – you could also use Mexican crema to keep it authentic or plain, full-fat Greek yogurt in a pinch.
• Cojita cheese – plain feta is another option. 
• Chicken broth – you can also use vegetable broth. 
• Brown sugar – you can also use honey, coconut sugar, or agave syrup. This will help to get a bit of char on the shrimp.
• Chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, Kosher salt, black pepper, and black peppercorns
• Jalapenos, limes, sweet onions, yellow onions, garlic, and red bell pepper
• Parsley and cilantro – not a fan of cilantro? Substitute more parsley.
• Tequila – optional, but adds a nice flavor to the shrimp.

Steps to Making This Recipe (long way)

1. Marinate the shrimp by blending the marinade ingredients and spooning over the shrimp. Marinate for 2-3 hours.
2. Make the shrimp/corn stock by cooking the chicken stock, corn, onion, parsley, and peppercorns together for 30 minutes. Remove the corn cobs. Cut the corn from the cobs. Reserve a little over 1 ½ cups of the corn, return the cobs to the stock pot, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Discard the solids.
3. Grill the shrimp and cut each shrimp into thirds. Set aside.
4. Saute onion, red bell pepper, garlic, jalapenos, and corn in a Dutch oven until the onion is translucent and the corn has begun to char.
5. Add the chicken/shrimp stock and spices to the pot. Simmer for 20 minutes.
6. Stir in the heavy cream, sour cream, and cojita cheese. Simmer for five minutes.
7. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.
8. Stir in the reserved corn kernels, cooked shrimp, lime juice, and cilantro. Bring back up to temperature.
9. Make the garnish by tossing all of the garnish ingredients together.
10. Ladle soup into bowls and top with 2 tablespoons of the garnish.

Steps To Making This Recipe (using shortcuts)

1. Remove the tails from the shrimp and cut each shrimp into thirds. Toss pre-cooked shrimp with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of taco seasoning—set aside.
2. In a large pot, saute the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and frozen corn in butter or bacon fat until the onion is translucent and the corn has bits of char on them.
3. Add the chicken stock and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Stir in the heavy cream, sour cream, and cojita cheese. Simmer five minutes.
5. Puree the soup with an immersion blender.
6. Stir in the reserved corn kernels, cooked shrimp, lime juice, and cilantro. Bring back up to temperature.
7. Make the garnish by tossing all of the garnish ingredients together.
8. Ladle soup into bowls and top with 2 tablespoons of the garnish.

If You Enjoyed This Recipe, Here Are A Few More To Try:

• Mexican Esquites With Spicy Lime Crema
• Mexican Grilled Corn
• Sweet Corn Fritters
• Sweet Corn Pudding
• Green Chile Creamed Corn
• Spicy Southern Corn Casserole

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