Budget Bites, Dinner, Lunch

Loco Moco

Servings4

Time to Cook30 minutes

Time to Prepare20 minutes

Loco Moco is a classic Hawaiian dish with three key components: rice, a meat patty smothered in gravy, and a beautiful fried egg to top it all off!

Ingredients

Hamburger Patties

1 lb ( 0.5 kg ) lean ground beef
⅓ cup ( 75 mL ) panko bread crumbs
1 egg
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ( 5 mL ) salt
1/2 tsp ( 2.5 mL ) black pepper
1 tbsp ( 15 mL ) milk
1 tsp ( 5 mL ) Worcestershire sauce

Gravy

1 tbsp ( 15 mL ) unsalted butter
½ medium sized onion, sliced
2 cups ( 500 mL ) sliced cremini or white button mushrooms (optional)
1-1/2 cups ( 375 mL ) beef stock (plus more if needed)
2 tsp ( 10 mL ) Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp ( 10 mL ) soy sauce
2 tsp ( 10 mL ) ketchup (optional)
½ tsp (2.5 mL) sugar
3 tsp ( 15 mL ) cornstarch (plus more if needed)
Black pepper to taste
Salt, to taste

To Serve

1 tbsp ( 15 mL ) oil or butter
4 eggs
4 cups (1 L ) hot cooked white rice (e.g. jasmine rice)
Chopped green onions, for garnishing

Instructions

Hamburger Patties

In a bowl, mix together ground beef, panko bread crumbs, egg, garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, milk, and Worcestershire sauce.
Divide the ground beef mixture into 4 portions. Form each portion into a ball and press down to flatten. The patties should be at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.
Heat a pan over medium to high heat. Add a tablespoon (15 mL) of oil and fry the patties for about 3 to 5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Alternatively, instead of frying you can sear the burgers on medium to high heat for about 2 minutes per side, then steam cook the burgers. Just turn heat to low after searing and cover the pan with a lid. Steam the burgers for 6 minutes, flipping them halfway through cooking to ensure even cooking.
When cooked, remove the patties from the pan. Set aside and keep warm.

Gravy

Drain all but 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of fat or oil (if it is not burnt) from the pan used to fry the burgers. Add the butter and sliced onions.
Sauté for a minute, then add the mushrooms, if using. Sauté for 20 minutes over low heat until the onions are caramelized. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, combine the beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, ketchup (if using), sugar and cornstarch. Whisk until the cornstarch has come off of the bottom and the mixture is well blended. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil to thicken the gravy.
Add the caramelized onions, and mushrooms, if using, and stir until they are incorporated into the gravy.
Taste and adjust for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary. Add more stock to thin out the gravy or a cornstarch-beef stock slurry if you want to thicken the gravy a little more.

To Serve

In a frying pan over medium to high heat, add a tablespoon of oil or butter. When the pan is hot, crack the eggs into the pan.
Cook the eggs sunny side up, or as preferred.
Place a scoop of white rice on four plates. Top each with a warm hamburger patty and a scoop of warm gravy.
Place a fried egg on top and garnish with green onions.

Notes

Loco Moco has many variations including the use of bacon, ham, spam, tofu, fish like mahi-mahi, or other meats.

This recipe was created for eggs.ca by Nadia Boachie and is used by BC Egg with permission. Nadia is the creative mind behind Travelandmunchies, a media platform where she explores the world through global recipes she makes in her kitchen. You can find her on Instagram, TikTok or her site, Travelandmunchies.