Cuisine Diva

Chaiyo Thai Bistro - Delray Beach

My husband and I do a lot of bike riding, so as part of our Valentine's Day celebration we did a 25 mile road bike ride, along with a friend of ours that had just purchased her very first road bike. We were kind of tired after the ride, and I had gone for a 8 mile run the day before, so I was also pretty sore.

Thai Food To Go

The Olympics had started just a few days before, so we decided between being tired from the bike ride, and wanting to watch the Olympics, that we would get take out from a local restaurant for our Valentine's Day dinner. The Chaiyo Thai Bistro is located just down the street from our house, in western Delray Beach. I didn't think my husband would be interested in trying Thai food, but he said he heard a lot of positive comments about the restaurant. I love Thai food, so we decided to get Thai take out for our Valentine's Day dinner.

Chaiyo Thai Bistro used to be a Miami Subs-Arthur Treacher Fish fast food restaurant, so I didn't think the atmosphere was going to be too appealing for dining in. But my husband was pleasantly surprised when he went to pick up our order. He said it was very elegant, filled with people enjoying their meals, and the staff was very friendly. We will definitely try eating there in person next time.

Delicious Thai Food

Since my husband and I had never eaten at Chaiyo Thai Bistro, and my husband didn't know too much about Thai food, we decided to order a bunch of food to sample off their menu. When ordering any of their soups, curry or noodle dishes, you get to choose your protein from tofu, chicken breast, beef, prawns, squid or scallops. I like that they have a tofu option for many of their menu items, our daughter became a vegetarian about a year ago, and I'm always looking for food options for her picky palate.

My husband and I ordered the following items from the menu:

Appetizer platter - 2 each of spring rolls, prawn rolls, chicken satay, beef satay, golden flowers and crispy tofu. Golden flowers are little wonton-like pockets filled with a mixture of ground chicken, potatoes, onion and yellow curry. The platter came with three dipping sauces; plum sauce, spicy peanut sauce and a sweet vinegar sauce which had finely diced cucumber in it. Besides the the rubbery tofu chunks, we really enjoyed the appetizer platter.

I got the Tom Ka soup with scallops. Tom Ka is a coconut milk based soup with fresh mushrooms, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro, tomatoes and your choice of protein (tofu, chicken breast, prawns, squid or scallops).

For his main dish, my husband ordered the Pad Thai with prawns. Pad Thai is stir-fried rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, green onion and special Pad Thai sauce. It is served with fresh bean sprouts, limes, ground peanuts, carrots and cabbage. I tried a bit - it was a nice mixture of hot noodles/shrimp with crunchy cold vegetables. Pad Thai is a classic Thai food dish.

For my main dish, I ordered the Green Curry with chicken. That was a mixture of a slightly hot/spicy green curry paste with coconut milk, eggplant, bell peppers, peas and Thai basil. Served with your choice of Jasmine or brown rice. You definitely need to serve this dish with a generous portion of rice, to help cut down on the heat. Not too hot, but it definitely built up in the back of your throat and mouth as you continued eating the dish.

Additional Information

Their menu is listed on their website, so you can get an idea of the type of food they serve: www.chaiyothaibistro.com. Chaiyo Thai Bistro is located on the southeast corner of Military Trail and Atlantic Ave. There is a BP gas station, Bed/Bath/Beyond and CVS in the plaza where the restaurant is located.

Chaiyo Thai Bistro is my new favorite restaurant, I look forward to dinning in the next time we get the craving for Thai food. And I really like the fact that it less than a mile from my house.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Pozole; Pork and Hominy Stew

 

Bowl of pozole garnished with queso cotija, cilantro and lime juice

Pozole is a traditional Mexican dish, which features lots of pork, chile peppers and hominy. Hominy is corn that has been treated with the mineral lime, to remove the outer hull, AKA the pericap. It sounds a bit weird, but think of hominy being like tiny little dumplings. They add a bit of texture to this classic comfort food. Hominy is also called pozole.

I saw pozole soup featured on an episode of Dinner's, Drive-in's and Dive's and thought it looked pretty tasty. Now that I'm on a Mexican cooking streak, at least for this month, I thought I'd try making homemade pozole.

 

A plethora of Mexican ingredients from Mex Grocer

Pozole Soup or Stew
Depending on how much liquid is added to the recipe, the pozole can be a soup or stew. I was worried about all the chile peppers that were added to the recipe, so I added a bit more liquid to make mine like a soup. Any kind of pork can be used in this recipe; stew meat or pork shoulder or even thick cut pork chops. My husband had some thick cut pork chops in the refrigerator, which he donated for the pozole. As long as he was being fed, I don't think he really cared what the pork chops were being used for.

 

Pozole AKA hominy

Interesting Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for the pozole should be available at local grocery stores. You may have to hunt around a bit, my local stores all have an ethnic food section, where they lump together all the Asian and Latin American ingredients. You can also purchase the ingredients from an online retailer such as Mex Grocer. I got the hominy, chile peppers, chipolte and queso cotija from Mex Grocer.

Pork cubed and waiting to be added to pozole

Ingredients for Pozole

• 29 ounce can hominy
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 pounds pork - cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes 
• 1 medium onion - diced
• 4 cloves garlic - minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes - any kind of chunky tomato sauce can be used too
• 4-6 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon toasted Mexican oregano
• 2 toasted bay leaves
• 2 toasted, dried chile peppers - I used one chile negro and one chile pasilla in my pozole
• 1-2 chipolte peppers in adobo sauce - chopped fine

Chile pasilla, on the left, and chile negro on the right

Directions for Pozole

1. Drain the water from the can of hominy, and place the hominy in a medium sauce pan.
2. Fill the sauce pan with fresh water and bring to a boil.
3. Turn the heat down to low, and let the hominy simmer for 30-45 minutes.
4. Add the oil to a large stock pot, or dutch oven placed over medium heat.
5. Add the pork, and cook until lightly browned on all sides.
6. Remove the cooked pork to a bowl.
7. Add the onions to the pan, and let cook in the pork fat/vegetable oil mixture until they begin to turn translucent.
8. Stir the garlic into the onions and cook for another minute.
9. Add the pork back into the pan.
10. Stir in the cumin and allspice.
11. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth.
12. Lightly dry toast the Mexican oregano and bay leaves in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the toasted herbs to the pozole.
13. Lightly dry toast the dried chile peppers in a frying pan over medium heat. Remove the toasted peppers to a plate, and let cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the seeds and inner membrane. Roughly tear the toasted chile peppers into small pieces, and stir into the pozole.
14. Stir the chopped chipolte into the pozole.
15. Bring the pozole to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 1/2 hour.
16. Strain the hominy, once it has finished simmering, and stir it into the pozole.
17. Let the pozole simmer for another 1/2 hour.
18. Remove the bay leaves, and serve the pozole with the garnishes of your choice.

Chipolte peppers in adobo sauce

Pozole Embellishments
Pozole should be served with a tray full of ingredients, so that each person can add the garnishes of their choice to their individual serving. My favorite combination is a bit of crumbled queso cotija, chopped cilantro leaves and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

 

Pork browning, hominy simmering, herbs toasting

• Crumbled queso cotija - a semi-hard, salty Mexican cheese, which is a bit like feta.
• Shredded cabbage
• Chopped onions
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges
• Sliced radishes
• Chili powder and/or hot sauce - only if you like REALLY spicy pozole. I thought the pozole had a little bit more heat than I'm used to, but I am trying to get a bit more adventurous.

Lime wedges, fresh cilantro leaves, queso cotija

 

Pot full of pozole, simmering on the stove

Have you made pozole before? I'd like to hear about your method for making this classic Mexican dish.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Have a Bowl of Soup or Chili

I like making different types of chili and soups. They are pretty easy to make, and last for a week or more. I usually make a big batch of soup  or chili, and freeze half of it for later.

Here are pictures and links to a few of my recent soup and chili recipes for you to enjoy making.

Pasta e Fagioli - a classic Italian pasta and bean soup.

 

Bowl of pasta e fagioli with Parmesan cheese garnish.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup - learn how to oven roast bell peppers, and turn the roasted peppers into a delicious and satisfying soup flavored with sage and garlic.

 

Bowl of roasted pepper soup with feta cheese garnish.

Black Bean & Corn Turkey Chili - recipe on how-to make a quick, and easy to prepare Mexican style bean and corn turkey chili flavored with cumin, coriander, thyme, oregano and garlic.

 

Bowl of black bean and corn turkey chili.

And here's an idea for an Instant Broccoli Cheddar Soup.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Instant Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I enjoy cooking, but sometimes I don't always have the time to make from scratch meals. I have a killer recipe for homemade Broccoli Cheddar soup, which I will be typing up as an article for Suite101 in the near future. I am the Herbs & Spices Feature Writer on Suite101, and have added many of my original recipes to that site.

But here is a quick and easy method for making broccoli cheddar soup if you are short on time. Stir in a bit of finely grated cheddar cheese into Cambell's V8 Garden Broccoli Soup and heat in the microwave. Only takes a minute or two to heat, and you can enjoy a hearty soup right away.

Not quite as tasty as the homemade variety, but making broccoli cheddar soup from scratch takes an hour or more. So if you are short on time, but looking for a comforting soup, try my idea for instant broccoli cheddar soup.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva