Loco Moco is a classic Hawaiian comfort food that is made up of a juicy smash burger, succulent gravy, stir-fried mushrooms, and egg all in a bed of freshly cooked rice.
Would you believe it if Loco Moco was invented only because a customer in a local restaurant in Hilo, Hawai’i requested a dish that is not a sandwich? The diner whipped up this cheap and easy dish on a whim, and it turned into a sensation on the whole island.
During my visit to Hawai’i, I was honored to be cooked for by Chef Sheldon Simeon. He is a professional chef reppin’ Hawaiian cuisine! He cooked up this Loco Moco and Ahi Poke so good, that my wife said we needed to recreate this at home! Oooh!
Loco Moco Burger
The main protein for this dish is the burger. It is straight-up ground beef, egg, onions, mayonnaise, garlic salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Chef Sheldon adds a little mayo for additional moisture, but promise you won’t even be able to taste it.
If you have another recipe for burgers, feel free to use it. You can also switch up the protein by using bacon, spam, sausage, tofu (if vegetarian/vegan), or other meats. What’s essential to this loco moco recipe is the brown gravy and the mushroom which was sooo good!
How to Make Loco Moco Gravy?
For this gravy recipe, Chef Sheldon actually used common pantry ingredients but it was super tasty. He started by making a roux with butter and flour, then he used beef stock which deepened the flavor of the gravy.
Two things that made it tastier and umami-filled were the soy sauce and the seasoning sauce. Use regular soy sauce for this. Seasoning sauce, on the other hand, looks pretty much like soy sauce with its amber color. However, it is made from wheat proteins and additives which have a deeper savory flavor. This condiment is commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine. With little amounts of these, it really elevated the gravy and you’re gonna want to put it literally everywhere!
Additional tips from Chef Sheldon include using bacon fat if available to add more flavor. To check if the gravy is done, it should be thick enough to cover the back of a spoon.
What are the Other Layers of Loco Moco?
Vegetables
Traditionally, the mushrooms, garlic, and onion are all added straight to the gravy upon cooking. However, Chef Sheldon opted to saute it separately because it makes all the difference.
One tip he shared was in high heat, place your mushrooms in the pan and do not touch it. Let it sear, caramelize, and develop a beautiful color which also translates to more flavor. The umami from the mushrooms and the sweet caramelization of the onions make this worth the extra pan to use!
Sunny Side Up Eggs
Sunny side-up eggs are the perfect topping for this dish for a creamy finish with the runny egg yolk! To cook perfect sunny-side-up eggs:
- Use a nonstick pan.
- Turn your heat to medium-low heat, and wait until the pan heats up. It should be warm to feel with your hands near the pan.
- Crack the egg in a separate bowl or container. Do this carefully to prevent cracking of the yolk and remove egg shells in case there are any.
- Place your eggs in a pan and be patient until the whites cook up while the yolk remains runny.
What to Serve with Loco Moco?
While there are a lot of components to this dish, I promise that every layer of it is worth making. The combination of rice, burger, gravy, vegetables, and egg is perfect as it is. However, you can still serve it with other side dishes like kimchi according to your preference. Perfect breakfast, lunch, or dinner anytime!
Other lunch or dinner ideas you may like:
- Korean Spicy Garlic Chicken
- Soybean Paste Pork Belly
- Cantonese Steamed Fish
- Eggplant in Spicy Sauce
- Galbi Fried Rice
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Best Loco Moco Recipe
Ingredients
- Freshly Cooked Rice
- Sunny Side Up Eggs
- Vegetable or Canola Oil For frying and sauteing
Burger Patty
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 1 pc Egg
- 1/2 cup Onion Diced
- 1 heaping tbsp Mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Garlic Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
- Salt To taste upon cooking
Loco Moco Gravy
- 1 stick Butter
- 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Beef Stock
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp Browning Seasoning Sauce
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Sauteed Mushrooms
- 1 bundle King Oyster Mushrooms Thinly sliced
- 2 cloves Garlic Thinly sliced
- 1/4 of Onion Thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
Burger Patty
- In a bowl, combine ground beef, egg, onion, mayo, garlic salt, pepper, and bread crumbs. Mix and let rest.
- Get a handful of the burger mixture and shape it into a patty.
- Pan-fry or grill the burger on high heat with a little oil.
- Season the patties with salt, to taste.
Loco Moco Gravy
- In a pot, melt butter and mix with flour to make a roux.
- Add the beef stock gradually and mix until it thickens.
- Season with soy sauce, seasoning sauce, and black pepper.
- Continue to mix until the texture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.
Sauteed Mushrooms
- In high heat, put oil, mushrooms, garlic, and onion in the pan, and do not move it. Let the mushrooms caramelize and develop flavor.
- Season with salt and pepper then check if there is charring already before mixing.
- Saute until mushrooms are cooked.
Combine
- On a plate, place a serving of rice and then a piece of burger on top. Drizzle with gravy then top with the vegetables and sunny side-up eggs.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
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