Musubi Makers
Other Hawaiian dishes

Loco moco

A scoop of rice, a hamburger patty, brown gravy over the whole thing, and a fried egg on top. It is the plate you order when you are really hungry, and it was born just down the road in Hilo.

rice, patty, gravy, and an egg on top

What it is

Loco moco is built in layers. You start with a scoop of hot white rice, lay a pan-seared hamburger patty on it, pour brown gravy over the top, and finish with a sunny-side-up egg so the yolk runs down into everything. It is cheap, filling, and just as at home at breakfast as it is at dinner. Every drive-in and diner in Hawaii has its own version.

A short history

Loco moco started in Hilo in 1949. Two spots there, Cafe 100 and the Lincoln Grill, both get credit, and Cafe 100 still calls itself the home of the loco moco. The story goes that it was made for a group of teenagers, the Lincoln Wreckers sports club, who wanted something cheap and filling that was not another sandwich. Rice, a patty, and gravy in a bowl did the trick, for about a quarter.

The name came from one of the boys, George Okimoto, whose nickname was Crazy. Loco is crazy in Spanish, and moco got added on because it rhymed and sounded good. The fried egg showed up later, and honestly nobody seems to know exactly when. It just stuck, the way the good ones do.

How to make it at home

The gravy is the part worth caring about. Make it in the same pan you sear the patties in so it picks up all the browned bits.

Loco moco

Serves 4

You need

  • 4 cups cooked white rice, hot
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp butter or oil
  • 1 small onion, sliced thin
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 tbsp shoyu, 1 tsp Worcestershire
  • 4 eggs

Steps

  1. Mix the beef with the salt and pepper and form 4 patties. Sear them in a hot pan a few minutes a side, then set aside. They finish in the gravy.
  2. In the same pan, cook the onion in the butter until soft. Stir in the flour and let it cook a minute.
  3. Pour in the broth a little at a time, whisking, then the shoyu and Worcestershire. Simmer until it thickens into gravy. Slide the patties back in to finish.
  4. Fry the eggs sunny side up in a separate pan, so the yolks stay runny.
  5. Build each bowl: rice, a patty, plenty of gravy, and an egg on top. Break the yolk and dig in.

If you want more island cooking, here is how I make spam musubi, or head back to the rest of the Hawaiian favorites.

Where I read up on this