Loco moco

I’m always missing Hawaii, and I make loco moco to ease the the urge to go there constantly. To me, it’s just a great way to have a burger without having to make sure you have bread and tomatoes and lettuce and that stuff at home. But I guess it does still mean you need to have all of the ingredients for a loco moco at home, which I am more likely to have than not.

Ingredients (makes 4 patties)

• 1 lb of ground beef (wagyu ground beef makes all the difference)
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• 1/3 small yellow onion, minced
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup of panko breadcrumbs (optional)
• 2 tablespoons of heavy cream (optional)
• 1 cup of beef broth
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 tablespoon of flour
• 1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce or steak sauce
• 1 teaspoon of ketchup
• 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
• salt and sugar to taste
• white or brown rice
• 2 eggs (or 4 eggs if you’re making 4 bowls with 1 patty each; each bowl should have an egg)
• Vegetable oil as needed

Tips

• Marinate the patties at least 1 hour ahead of time.
• You can add onions and mushrooms to the gravy if desired.

Instructions

• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, salt, pepper, soy sauce, yellow onion, garlic, 1 egg, panko breadcrumbs and heavy cream.
• Mix well with your hands (it’s just the easiest way to mix)
• Form the mixture into 4 patties and set aside for at least 1 hour. The patties should be about 3/4 inch thick.
• Coat a cast iron with a thin layer of vegetable oil.
• Place the patties into the cast iron and fry each side for 4-6 minutes each side, longer if your patties are thicker. Leave them in your cast iron once done until you’re ready to serve.
• Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Stir until fully combined.
• Add the beef broth and water and bring to a light boil/simmer.
• Add the worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and soy sauce. Cook for about 2 minutes.
• Give the gravy a taste and adjust the taste to your liking with salt and sugar. Leave the gravy in your sauce pan until you’re ready to serve.
• In another non-stick pan, heat up some vegetable oil and fry your eggs. I like to have them over-easy or over-medium but you can certainly do sunny-side up too.
• Once your patties, gravy and eggs are done, you can begin plating.
• Place 1 cup of rice in each bowl.
• Place the patty on top of the rice and the egg on top of the patty.
• Top the bowl with gravy.
• Ready to serve!