Pretty Boy is a modern Vietnamese restaurant in Athens led by first-generation Vietnamese American chef Kenny Nguyen. I recently tasted his grilled Viet street corn with coconut milk, fried garlic and scallions and found it to be outstanding.
Elotes is a Mexican street food that has gained popularity in the U.S. as a summer side dish. Featuring grilled corn slathered with mayonnaise and topped with garlic, cilantro, spices, cotija cheese and lime, it’s a flavor explosion.
The Southeast Asian flavors are bright and bold in the version that Nguyen offers at Pretty Boy. Sour, salty, bitter and sweet with a punch of umami, it covers all the flavor bases.
I reached out to the restaurant, and Chef Nguyen sent me a modified version more suited to the home kitchen, which I then tweaked again to suit Good and Good For You parameters. This lightened-up version is made with less oil but still honors what is served at the restaurant.
Viet Street Corn
This recipe was inspired by the popular dish served at Pretty Boy in Athens.
Cooking the corn in coconut milk infuses the milk with corn flavor, resulting in a sweet and savory sauce.
- 4 ears corn, shucked
- 3 (15-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 6 scallions
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon hot chile oil
- Lime, quartered, for serving
- Place the corn in a large saucepan. Add the coconut milk. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the corn is tender to the point of a knife, about 20 minutes.
- While the corn simmers, chop the scallions and place them in a small metal bowl. Set aside.
- Heat the canola oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Pour the garlic and oil over the scallions. Add sugar and salt; stir to combine. Set aside.
- Using tongs, remove the corn to a rimmed baking sheet. Set aside. Meanwhile, heat the oven to broil.
- Increase the heat of the coconut milk to high and boil until thickened and reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes. Add lime zest and juice. Stir to combine.
- Cook the corn, rotating frequently with tongs, until blackened and charred on all sides, about 5 minutes, depending on the strength of the broiler.
- Remove corn to a serving plate. Drizzle some of the reduced coconut milk on top, and serve the remaining on the side. Top with garlic-scallion mixture and drizzle of chile oil. Serve immediately with additional lime quarters on the side.
Serves 4.
Per serving: 203 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 4 grams protein, 26 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams total sugars, 4 grams fiber, 11 grams total fat (5 grams saturated), no cholesterol, 173 milligrams sodium.
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