Pizzeria Luigi

Pizzeria Luigi

1137 25th Street

San Diego, CA

(619)233-3309

Every Saturday is 'pizza night' in my house. I haven't found a pizza place in San Diego that I 'love' yet. I love Giordano's in Chicago and Lucca Grill in Bloomington. Those two are complete opposites. Giordano's has the deep dish Chicago style crust where as Lucca's has the thin, cracker like crust. I haven't found a place in San Diego that compares to either. We've tried Lefty's. Something in the sauce was lacking. Oggi's was just 'okay'. New York Giant pizza was just 'bleh'. Da Boyz is so-so. I think Uno's is good. I really enjoy their buttery crust.

I will admit that I heard about Luigi's after watching an episode of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. In it, the owner bragged about using bottled water in the pizza dough and that made all the difference. I had to test this out.

We called in our order and headed over to Luigi's. It was easy to get to from the 94. I think Luigi's is across the street from the Turf Supper Club (another place I want to try). Parking was ridiculous as is with everyother place in San Diego. We parked on the street and went inside. There was a long line. It's a small place with some outdoor seating. Most of the people there were getting single slices for take out or dine in. The pizza looked delicious. The toppings looked fresh and tasty, especially the Mona Lisa (it's like a supreme pizza). The wait was not long and we paid for our 2 pizzas and headed home.

I got the Donatello which is an 18" white pizza (no sauce) with 3 cheeses (ricotta, mozzerella, and romano). It was 'okay'. Nothing special. I may have liked it more if the crust had been more crispy and thin and if the ricotta had been spread out more rather than being in huge mounds on the pizza.

I didn't eat the pepperoni. I'm not a fan. I'll eat it if it's on a supreme pizza. But pepperoni alone doesn't interest me. Overall, I didn't care that much for the crust. I may have to try Bronx Pizza to do a comparison.

Shopping

I find myself drawn to certain items when I'm out grocery shopping. Even with a list, I tend to pick up that things I crave like cha lua and gio thu (I always have bahn mi on the brain).

And of course pickled carrots and daikon.

Vietnamese baguette.

More baked goods.

Summer rolls.

Tapioca desserts and steamed cakes.

I was actually on a mission today. I was looking for a special pan for something I want to cook.

I am getting closer to finding it.

I was surprised by the large selection at Vieng Dong Market.

Yay! I found the pan. Guess what it's for.

Here's a clue.

More to come. Just give me some time, Dallaslao! :)

What Have I Been Up To?

A whole year has passed since I last posted. It was a long needed break. I had been busy with school and family. I think I am now ready to start blogging again. I have to admit I was inspired after reading DallasLao's Blog http://dallaslao.wordpress.com/ . He reminded me that he blogs to share his experiences with people like myself. And I love reading blogs. I haven't been keeping up with my usual list of blogs, except perhaps Kirk's mmm-yoso http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/ .

Khao Sung Ga Ya : Purple Rice Custard Dessert

Sometimes I get a craving for sweets and one of my favorite desserts is khao sung ga ya. I always referred to it as 'the purple rice dessert'. It's so delicious. It's baked black glutinous rice with a custard on top. I've been hesitant to buy any from the Asian grocery stores since they don't don't like they are prepared the same way my mom makes hers. (And mom's cooking is the BEST). This is my interpretation of my mom's khao sung ga ya. This was my first time cooking this and I think I may adjust the recipe slightly.

Khao Sung Ga Ya:

For the rice part -

1 cup uncooked black glutinous rice

1 cup uncooked sweet white rice

1/2 can to 1 can of coconut milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 t salt

For the custard topping -

1 can of coconut milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 large pkg Jello brand custard

5 whole eggs

5 egg yolks

The first thing to do is to take the uncooked black rice and place in a pot covered with water and let it boil for 5 minutes then remove from the heat to cool. Once cooled, add the uncooked white rice and stir. Add more water to cover the rice and let the rice soak over night. The next day you will steam the rice mixture just like you would regular glutinous rice. Once the rice is cooked, I remove it to a baking dish (9x13) to cool. In a sauce pan, I heated the coconut milk, sugar, and salt then poured it over the cooked rice. I was worried that my rice would turn out too firm once I baked the dish, that is the reason for the coconut milk. I think in my mom's version, the rice is much sweeter and firmer.


The next step is to prepare the custard topping. In a large pot over medium/low heat, I wisked together the coconut milk, sugar, and custard mix. Then I added the eggs and yolks. You will have to wisk this mixture over medium heat for 20-25 minutes until is reached the desired consistency (until the custard is thick).



Once the custard is ready, it is poured over the rice. The baking dish goes into a water bath and placed in the oven at 350 degrees until the custard browns.

You should let it cool for awhile after taking it out of the oven. I couldn't wait so I cut a piece. It's so good when it's still warm. I just love coconut milk, rice, and custard! In my mom's version, she adds carmelized/fried shallots on top of the custard. I've never liked that so I didn't add it to my recipe.

I decided to blog about this for a few reasons. Being Laotian, I'm always looking on the internet for Lao recipes. I had a hard time finding a recipe for this dessert. Manivan Larprom has a recipe on her blog ( http://thai-dessert-recipe.blogspot.com/2006/09/khao-sung-ga-ya-black-sticky-rice.html ). I love sharing recipes that I grew up eating. This dessert brings back so many fond childhood memories. I always watched my mom cooking it, but I never helped her with it. I'm amazed that mine turned out so good. I covered the leftovers and put it in the fridge. The next day, I heated up individual servings in the microwave for about 40 seconds and it tasted as good as yesterday.

Sabaidee Bpee Mai!!

Lao New Year 2551

At Market Creek Plaza

310 Euclid Avenue, San Diego, CA

April 5th 10:00am-5:00pm

April 6th 10:00am-5:00pm

I missed the opening ceremony this year. There was a speech from the Chairman and the American and Lao National Anthems were played followed by a parade, the Baci ceremony, and the releasing of doves. Here is a picture of young Lao children performing a song.
It was somewhat disorganized but very cute.
This young boy reminded me of my brother so much.

This was the end of their performance. Afterwards there was live music, a talent show, and then the Miss Lao New Year Pageant.
Here are the Miss Lao New Year San Diego 2008 finalists. What a wide range of beauties.

I think there were 9-10 food vending tents. They seem to be serving all the same things. I didn't get to try all of them. I meant to try the kanom krok but completely forgot to. I have been craving them. I might have to go back tomorrow. Everything was made fresh in front of you like the grilled meat skewers, grilled sausages, papaya salad, and eggrolls. And there were different kinds of drinks such as Thia Iced Tea and different desserts such as fried taro/bananas/yams. I was surprised that there wasn't som moo or purple rice desserts at any of the vendors.
There were many vendors selling prepared fried pork rinds (or was it ears?), jaew bong, beef jerky, and I think toasted rice powder.
I've never seen this before. I think it looks like deep fried anchovies?
I tried all kinds of foods at the festival but this is what I took home with me to snack on. I had a great time and met many nice people. There is a very nice Lao community in San Diego.

Beef Lettuce Wraps

My parents always had a garden at every house we lived in. They enjoyed growing their own produce and maintaining it. I remember our gardens consisted of tomatoes, cucumber, all kinds of hot peppers, long green beans, eggplants, mustard greens, mint, cilantro, thai basil, basil, dill, vietnamese coriander, mixed lettuce, and many other vegetables. We even grew different kinds of melons and squash. One of the dishes I remember eating is this one. I don't know the proper Lao name for it, but it's a 'beef lettuce wrap' similiar to Thai chicken lettuce wraps, however in my family we put it all inside a spring roll wrapper and dip it in a sauce made of peanut butter, hoisen sauce, and coconut milk.I tried to copy my mom's recipe, but this is my version of it. Her cooking always tastes so much better.
For the dipping sauce:1 minced shallot
vegetable oil
coconut milk
crunchy peanut butter
hoisen sauce
chili garlic sauce
water
I heated up some vegetable oil to sautee the shallot. I added some chili garlic sauce, the hoisen sauce, and peanut butter. The amounts vary according to taste. Then I added 1/4 of the coconut milk and mixed while still on the burner. I added enough water for the desired consistency.
I took 1.5lbs of thinly sliced beef and marinated it with sugar, soy sauce, and ground tumeric. I sliced 1/2 a white onion and 3 garlic cloves.
I sauteed the onions and garlic in vegetable oil and added the meat.
Here is the spring roll wrapper. You just dip it into water and let it sit on a flat surface until it's pliable. Then that's when you start building the spring roll. I usually add some rice vermicelli, lettuce, green onion, mint leaves, cilantro, cucumber, and shredded carrots. And I roll it like an eggroll.

I'm not very good at making them. My family members usually overstuff the rolls with lettuce and the vermicelli. I love this dish. It's versatile, you can use any kind of protien. Shrimp is always a good choice. And you can use any kind of dipping sauce. My mom has served it with nuoc mam and mam nem dipping sauces (I think those are the Vietnamese names).

Lao New Year 2008 - San Diego

I'm excited about this event. I love meeting new people and getting to know the Lao community in San Diego.