This classic and hearty Hawaiian dish is popular not only in Hawaii but in Japan too! Donburi (rice bowl) dishes will always be a hit in Japan because not only are they delicious but they’re convenient and easy to eat especially on the go and Loco Moco perfectly fits this brief! The mouthwatering combination of a juicy hamburger patty doused in gravy and topped with a fried egg served over rice makes it a winning one-bowl donburi dish. It’s filling, incredibly flavourful and delicious and very easy to make.
Table of contents
What is Loco Moco
Loco Moco is a classic and very popular Hawaiian comfort food made from a bed of rice topped with a ground beef patty and a fried egg smothered with rich gravy sauce. After doing a bit of research I have learnt that Loco Moco has quite an amusing origin. It is said that Loco Moco was created at the Lincoln Grill restaurant in Hilo, Hawaii by a request from a hungry group of Japanese-Hawaiian teenagers who wanted something cheap but filling. The teenagers decided to name the dish “loco moco” after their friend who was nicknamed ‘Crazy’ using the Spanish word for the name to create a catchy rhyme (more information here: https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/where-to-eat-a-loco-moco-in-hilo-the-town-that-invented-it/).
Nowadays this dish is famous worldwide and is especially popular in Japan as a western style (yoshoku) meal especially amongst children. There are many variations of loco moco but this version is a Japanese take on the dish using Japanese rice and hambagu style patties. It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner or an easy lunch on-the-go!
Ingredients to make this Loco Moco recipe
Cooked white rice : I used Japonica Koshihikari rice for making Loco moco into Donburi
Burger patty : I used my Japanese style burger patties made with a special but very simple ingredient that makes them extra soft and juicy.
Eggs: fried sunny side up
Green onions to garnish
For the gravy: Beef broth, onion: sliced thinly, mushrooms: sliced thinly, butter, salt and black pepper, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, flour or cornstarch to thicken the sauce
Instructions : How to make loco moco
- Cook the rice. The easiest way is to set your rice cooker, if you don’t have a rice cooker, follow my easy instructions and tips for how to cook rice without a rice cooker.
- Prepare the burger patty – follow the recipe for Japanese hambagu beef patty with tofu for extra softness.
- Cook the burger patty in a frying pan. Set them aside.
- Put butter over medium heat in the same frying pan and saute the onions.
- Add the mushrooms to saute with the onion. When the mushrooms soften, add flour and stir.
- Pour beef stock, worcestershire sauce and ketchup.
- Keep stirring and turn the heat off when the mixture has thickened. Set it aside.
- Make sunny side eggs in a separate frying pan.
- Serve cooked rice in a bowl topped with the burger patty, the sunny side egg, then smother with mushroom and onion gravy sauce.
How to serve loco moco the Japanese way
We have a lots of Donburi (large rice bowl) dishes such as Gyudon, Tendon, Oyakodon, Kakiagedon, Katsudon, Miso Katsudon, and more. I thought Loco Moco is perfect to serve as a donburi dish since the original loco moco is just like a donburi meal with the burger patty and fried served atop the bed of rice. Simply get a large/tall bowl and scoop some rice in. Add the burger patty and fried egg then cover with the gravy and garnish with green onions et voila! loco moco donburi is ready!
How to make perfect sunny side eggs
It’s a simple thing but how the egg is made makes a big difference to the finished dish. So I will tell you how to make perfectly half cooked sunny side eggs.
First crack the eggs in a small bowl through a sieve which will remove any watery parts of the egg whites. This extra step makes fried eggs look so delicious.
Heat a frying pan over medium high heat, add oil and gently place the cracked egg into the frying pan. Turn the heat down to low and cook the egg for about 10 mins without a lid.
Tips for Making Loco Moco Donburi
- Make juicy hamburger patties – when you make the beef patty add either tofu or panko crumb. This will make it much softer and juicier.
- Make runny sunny side eggs – following the steps above.
A : It’s not easy to describe the taste of food sometimes but it is delicious and very satisfying. Every element of the dish goes so well together. The gooey fried eggs, the grilled beef patty, and the gravy are all flavourful and rich so the white rice really balances and ties it all together.
A : You could replace white rice with brown rice or wild rice. The beef patty can be replaced with chicken,shrimp, bacon or even spam. The patty can also be cooked with some soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake to create a teriyaki beef patty. You can really let your imagination run wild and create new loco moco variations of your own.
Loco Moco Donburi ロコモコ丼
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 burger patties
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ onion
- 6 mushrooms
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Cook the rice in a rice cooker. *1
- Make beef burger patties. *2
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and cook beef burger patties and set aside.
- Put butter over medium heat in the same frying pan and saute the onions.
- Add the mushrooms to saute with the onion. When the mushrooms soften, add flour and stir.
- Pour beef stock, worcestershire sauce and ketchup.
- Keep stirring and turn the heat off when the mixture has thickened. Set it aside.
- Make sunny side eggs in a separate frying pan. *3
- Serve cooked rice in a bowl topped with the burger patty, the sunny side egg, then smother with mushroom and onion gravy sauce.
Great recipe, easy to follow. I enjoyed this a lot.
Thank you Carl:D
your recipes are great! very good pictures! Thank you!
Thank you Karl.