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Loco Moco

Published: May 30, 2016 · Modified: Mar 22, 2017 by Igor · This post may contain affiliate links · 23 Comments

This Loco Moco recipe comes straight from the heavenly island of Hawaii. Basically, it's white rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg, and a flavorful gravy. Perfect for lunch, dinner, or even as a breakfast after a night out!

Loco Moco is a popular Hawaiian dish consisting of rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg, and drown in a delicious brown gravy!

Hawaiian cuisine holds a special interest to me. First of all I love that it's a mash-up of Asian and Western cultures. Dishes are really unique in this beautiful island! Moreover, Hawaiian cuisine is totally new and unexplored for me. My fascination with the Hawaiian food started when I made this fantastic salad / side dish called Lomi Lomi salmon. It is so simple yet so tasty! I couldn't believe how good it is when I tried it for the first time. Oh and it looks so exotic! Perfect for serving to your guests. I know know, this post is not about it! Sorry. I just wanted to speak my mind on this salmon goodness so bad. Ok, back to the regularly scheduled program. This time I made another Hawaiian classic - Loco Moco (I love these Hawaiian names: Lomi Lomi, Loco Moco, ha ha!). Basically, it is rice, topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg and drown in a fantastic brown gravy. Comfort food at its best!

Loco Moco is a popular Hawaiian dish consisting of rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg, and drown in a delicious brown gravy!

Loco Moco has an interesting story behind it. It is said that this dish originated in a small cafe located in a Hawaiian town of Hilo in 1949. The owners of the restaurant (husband and wife Mr. and Mrs. Inouye) wanted to create something affordable yet filling for the local teenagers. That's how Loco Moco was born! As for the name, there are few different versions on how it came about. First one says that the husband owner offered to call it Loco Moco because, as he said, kids are crazy. "Loco" means "crazy" in Portuguese and Hawaiian pidgin. Another version says that the dish was name after the first boy who tasted it. His nickname was Loco. What about the second word "Moco"? It doesn't mean anything and was just created to rhyme with the first one!

Loco Moco is a popular Hawaiian dish consisting of rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg, and drown in a delicious brown gravy!

Nowadays Loco Moco is a true Hawaiian favorite. It is often served in school cafeterias and lunch counters. This dish is a perfect example of the combination of Asian and Western cuisines I told you earlier about. The rice and the gravy are more Asian, while a hamburger patty and a fried egg are more Western. The traditional Loco Moco should always feature runny sunny-side-up eggs! The idea behind it is to pop the egg yolk so it pours all over the rice. Don't you dare to think that it's a joke or a detail not worth paying attention to! Hawaiians are really serious about it. Few years ago, during the annual Rice Festival held in Hawaii, there was an attempt to set the record for the largest Loco Moco ever made. Actually, it wasn't just the attempt, the record was successfully set. It weighed 1126 pounds (wow!). But. There was one tiny detail that disappointed some Hawaiians. Eggs were scrambled instead of cooked sunny-side-up! Told ya they are serious about it!

Loco Moco is a popular Hawaiian dish consisting of rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg, and drown in a delicious brown gravy!

Loco Moco is really worth your attention. It's more than just a ground meat patty, rice and a fried egg. The gravy makes all the difference! I saw that some people add mushrooms in the gravy. I decided to make a classic version but it's not a bad idea at all. I also heard that this dish is a perfect hangover cure (just in case). I am already looking forward to more dishes from this heavenly island!

Loco Moco is a popular Hawaiian dish consisting of rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg, and drown in a delicious brown gravy!

Loco Moco is a popular Hawaiian dish consisting of rice topped with a hamburger patty, fried egg, and drown in a delicious brown gravy!

Loco Moco Recipe

CookingTheGlobe
White rice topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and all drowned in a delicious gravy. This Hawaiian specialty will immediately win your hearts!
4.64 from 11 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Cuisine Hawaiian
Servings 4 people
Calories 595 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the patties:

  • 1 pound (450g) ground beef
  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs
  • ½ cup sweet onion , minced
  • 1 egg , beaten
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • vegetable oil , for frying

For the gravy:

  • 1 ½ cup beef broth
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper , to taste

For the assembly:

  • 2 cups cooked white rice , hot or warm
  • 4 eggs , cooked sunny side up

Instructions
 

  • The patties. Combine all the ingredients together and make 4 patties. Heat the oil in a skillet an fry the patties until desired doneness. I did like 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
  • The gravy. Use the same skillet you used for cooking the patties. Scrape up the browned bits of the meat. Melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and continue whisking until you get a light-brown paste. Slowly pour in the broth, whisking continually until the flour is combined with the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, add the Worcestershire sauce and cook for 5 minutes more. Season to taste.
  • The assembly. Serve the patties over the cooked rice and top each patty with the fried egg. Pour the gravy over the top and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 595kcal
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

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Comments

  1. J@BlessHerHeartYall

    August 12, 2016 at 8:27 pm

    5 stars
    I love hawaiian food too and this dish looks amazing! I and saving and trying this dish for sure!

    Reply
    • Igor

      August 15, 2016 at 9:40 am

      It really is amazing! Who would have thought that a simple combination of the burger, gravy, and fried eggs can be so satisfying!

      Reply
  2. Molly Kumar

    August 13, 2016 at 7:44 am

    5 stars
    What a cute sounding dish and love the story behind it. It looks so delicious, will give it a try soon.

    Reply
    • Igor

      August 15, 2016 at 9:12 pm

      Let me know how you liked it after trying, Molly 🙂

      Reply
  3. Richard Danforth

    August 16, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    Now with some Spam and Mac salad and it would be so ono! PS: Lolo is pidgeon for crazy not loco.

    Reply
    • Igor

      August 17, 2016 at 6:45 am

      Thanks for clarifying, Richard! I found that story of origin somewhere on the internet 🙂

      Reply
  4. Sarah

    September 22, 2017 at 4:22 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for da boyz and they all pau hana so fast! Mahalo for this recipe

    Reply
    • Igor

      November 15, 2017 at 2:05 pm

      Mahalo for the comment! I am happy you liked it!

      Reply
  5. Marie

    August 26, 2018 at 10:14 pm

    5 stars
    Made this for my husband after a trip to Hawaii. He said it tasted exactly like the Loco Moco at the Rainbow Drive-In! So yummy. 🙂 Mahalo!

    Reply
    • Igor

      August 29, 2018 at 9:22 am

      So happy to hear it, Marie! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Joan

    August 03, 2019 at 6:15 pm

    The Loco Moco looks great! Thank you for this recipe.

    Interestingly, "Loco Moco," translated in Spanish, doesn't sound appetizing because it means "crazy snot" lol

    Reply
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