Quick and easy to make, comforting, and filling, Loco Moco is one of the most famous Hawaiian dishes. It features a bed of white rice topped with a flavorful hamburger patty, a fried egg, and mindblowing brown gravy. A perfect lunch or dinner!
Pasta and casseroles are great but sometimes you want to have something different for dinner. To break the routine with a new but at the same time familiar to your taste buds dish. I mean, grilled oysters sound great but… You get what I mean, right? Easy to make, simple, filling, comforting, that’s what I’m aiming for.
Yesterday I spent a whole hour browsing through thousands of recipes until I found exactly what I needed (I guess I am a picky girl). Meet Loco Moco! The famous Hawaiian dish consisting of white rice topped with a juicy hamburger patty, which is then topped with a fried egg, and, finally, with brown gravy! You should be sold by now, my dear friend.
Loco Moco is only like 50 years old but it’s already a classic. I have never been to Hawaii (adding to my list of places to visit) but from what I’ve read, you could find this dish in every single restaurant of this beautiful island. I can understand why. A perfect combo of Asian (rice and gravy) and Western cuisines (hamburger and egg) is irresistible!
I only needed one look at this goodness and I immediately knew I would love it. A success with Hawaiian cuisine I had before (check out my Lomi Lomi salmon recipe) only strengthened that feeling. What’s not to love about meat, rice, egg, and gravy in your plate?
A few more facts about this interesting dish. Many call it a Hawaiian version of fast food because it’s really quick to make and it comforts you like you need! Loco Moco burger is also said to be a great hangover cure. Keep that in mind next time you’ll have a rough morning.
Hawaiian love this dish so much that they even put it into the world record book. Yup. A few years ago a few chefs and volunteers assembled a bowl of Loco Moco that weighed 1,126 pounds. How about that? 600 pounds of rice, 200 pounds of ground beef, 300 pounds of eggs and 200 pounds of gravy. Impressive!
Oh, and one more thing. The authentic Loco Moco should feature runny sunny-side-up eggs. I don’t have any problem with that because I always have my eggs runny but if you are not a fan, you can scramble them. Just don’t tell any Hawaiian about it. Shhh… It will stay between me and you.
Loco Moco - Hawaiian Version of Fast Food
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup white rice
- 4 eggs
The burgers:
- 1 lb (450g) ground beef
- 1/2 cup panko (Asian bread crumbs)
- 1/2 cup onion , minced (I used sweet onions)
- 1 egg , beaten
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- oil , for frying
The gravy:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup beef broth
- 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package instructions.
- Meanwhile, combine the ground beef, panko, onion, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper together and form 4 patties. In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook for about 4 minutes per side until done. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
- In the same skillet, scrape up the browned bits of the meat and melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until a light-brown paste forms. Whisk in the broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add the Worcestershire sauce and simmer 5 minutes more. Season to taste.
- Finally, fry the eggs runny sunny side up or as you prefer. Serve the burgers over the cooked rice and top each with the fried egg and some gravy. Enjoy!
20 Comments
Marvellina | What To Cook Today
May 29, 2017 at 11:26 pmI had loco moco when we went to Hawaii a while ago and love it ever since. This looks incredibly good. and yes…I want that runny egg on top too !
Jovita
May 30, 2017 at 9:21 amI hope I will be able to visit Hawaii someday to compare my recipe to the original 😉
Lisa Bryan | Downshiftology
May 30, 2017 at 2:26 amNow that’s my kind of fast food! A savory dish that can be eaten for any meal – yum!
Jovita
May 30, 2017 at 9:22 amYup, some people even love it for breakfast!
Dahn
May 30, 2017 at 4:28 amwow this sounds really good, I like the idea of Hawaiian fast food, and what a great breakfast
Jovita
May 30, 2017 at 9:24 amI am glad you like it, Dahn!
Amanda
May 30, 2017 at 4:35 amI have never heard of this, but it sounds delicious and looks beautiful. I think I’ll make this for my hubby as a surprise. It looks like perfect meal for the whole family.
Jovita
May 30, 2017 at 9:28 amI am pretty sure your hubby will love it, Amanda 😉
swayam
May 30, 2017 at 4:35 amTHIS looks so amazing!! Love that oozing egg.
Jovita
May 30, 2017 at 9:28 amThanks, Swayam!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine
May 30, 2017 at 9:17 pmYou did a beautiful job with this dish! Honestly, it isn’t usually so pretty! I love rice and eggs together 🙂
Jovita
June 20, 2017 at 1:09 pmThanks for acknowledging the amount of work I put in these photos 😉
Jessica @ Citrus Blossom Bliss
May 31, 2017 at 1:18 amI’m not surprised I’ve never heard of this because sometimes I’m convinced I live under a rock. But OH MY GOODNESS I’m so glad I ventured out from under the rock to find this delicious dish! Hawaii is on my list of places I’d like to go to too, but until then…Loco Moco it is!!
Jovita
June 20, 2017 at 1:11 pmHa ha, it’s really hard to know about everything nowadays, Jessica. There are so many amazing dishes in the world!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
May 31, 2017 at 10:00 amWhat a fun dish to recreate right at home!
Jovita
June 20, 2017 at 1:30 pmIt really is fun + super delicious!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
May 31, 2017 at 2:54 pmWe spent our honeymoon in Hawaii. Loved the food…and this brings back some great memories.
Jovita
June 20, 2017 at 1:32 pmSomeday I will visit this beautiful island 🙂
Chef Mireille
May 31, 2017 at 7:53 pma great complete meal – my kind of dinner except I dont like oozing egg so I will top it with scrambled egg
Jovita
June 20, 2017 at 1:33 pmScrambled egg sounds good too!