Plate 04 of 10

Loco Moco

Hilo, 1949, in four tiers. A mound of hot Calrose rice, a thick 80/20 chuck patty seared hard in cast iron, a brown gravy built on the patty's fond with mushrooms, a butter roux, beef stock, shoyu and Worcestershire, and a sunny-side egg on top whose yolk breaks into the gravy and turns it into a sauce.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 25 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Researched · Kitchen testing pending

A fried egg with a bright orange yolk on a beef patty draped in dark brown gravy over a mound of white rice.

In 1949, at the Lincoln Grill in Hilo, a group of hungry teenage athletes asked Richard and Nancy Inouye for something cheaper than a sandwich. Nancy put hot rice in a bowl, a hamburger patty on top, and brown gravy over that. The boys named it after a friend nicknamed Crazy, Loco, and added Moco because it rhymed. The egg came soon after.

The result is American diner beef, Japanese medium-grain rice and a European pan gravy in one bowl, served around the clock from Honolulu drive-ins to North Shore surf shacks.

Ingredients

Patties
680 gGround beef chuck, 80/20, chilled
80 gMaui sweet onion, very finely minced
10 gGarlic, minced to a paste
15 mlJapanese shoyu
10 mlWorcestershire sauce
6 gFine sea saltdivided
3 gBlack pepper, cracked
Gravy and eggs
30 mlNeutral oildivided
30 gUnsalted butter
150 gCremini or button mushrooms, sliced 6 mm
30 gPlain flour
600 mlUnsalted beef bone broth, hot
20 mlJapanese shoyu
10 mlWorcestershire sauce
4 wholeLarge eggs
800 gHot steamed Calrose rice
20 gScallions, thinly sliced

The gravy is the fond

Above 140 °C the beef surface browns and leaves dark polymers on the pan. Mushrooms and onion release water that dissolves them, and a butter roux cooked to amber thickens the stock into a glossy gravy without a raw flour taste.

The yolk is the emulsifier

A runny yolk is a third fat and rich in lecithin. Broken over the hot gravy it binds the beef fat and stock into a silky sauce that coats the rice.

The five tastes on this plate

Salt is shoyu, Worcestershire and sea salt in patty and gravy. Fat is chuck, butter and yolk. Acid is the vinegar and tamarind in the Worcestershire. Heat is cracked pepper and scallion. Umami is seared beef, bone broth, shoyu and mushrooms.

Equipment

12-inch cast-iron skillet
Non-stick skillet, for the eggs
Whisk
Wide shallow bowls

Cast iron for the patties and the gravy, for the crust and the heat. A non-stick pan for eggs with clean whites and loose yolks.

Method

Form the patties6 min
In a chilled bowl combine the beef, onion, garlic, 15 ml shoyu, 10 ml Worcestershire, 4 g salt and the pepper. Mix lightly, just until combined. Shape four patties 2 cm thick with a dimple pressed into each centre.
In a chilled bowl combine the beef, onion, garlic, 15 ml shoyu, 10 ml Worcestershire, 4 g salt and the pepper. Mix lightly, just until combined. Shape four patties 2 cm thick with a dimple pressed into each centre.
Sear4 min
Heat 15 ml oil in the cast iron over high until lightly smoking, about 200 °C. Sear the patties 3½ to 4 minutes undisturbed until a dark crust forms.
Heat 15 ml oil in the cast iron over high until lightly smoking, about 200 °C. Sear the patties 3½ to 4 minutes undisturbed until a dark crust forms.
Flip and finish3 min
Turn and cook 3 minutes more to 71 °C. Move to a warm plate and tent.
Turn and cook 3 minutes more to 71 °C. Move to a warm plate and tent.
Mushrooms on the fond4 min
Pour off all but two tablespoons of fat. Add the mushrooms over medium-high and cook 4 minutes until golden, scraping up the browned beef fond.
Pour off all but two tablespoons of fat. Add the mushrooms over medium-high and cook 4 minutes until golden, scraping up the browned beef fond.
Roux2 min
Add the butter, then the flour over the mushrooms. Stir constantly 2 minutes until the flour turns light amber.
Add the butter, then the flour over the mushrooms. Stir constantly 2 minutes until the flour turns light amber.
Gravy6 min
Pour in the hot stock in a stream, whisking. Add 20 ml shoyu and 10 ml Worcestershire. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Season with the remaining salt and pepper and keep warm.
Pour in the hot stock in a stream, whisking. Add 20 ml shoyu and 10 ml Worcestershire. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Season with the remaining salt and pepper and keep warm.
Eggs3 min
In the non-stick pan with the remaining oil over medium, fry the eggs sunny-side up 2 to 3 minutes, whites set and crisp-edged, yolks loose.
In the non-stick pan with the remaining oil over medium, fry the eggs sunny-side up 2 to 3 minutes, whites set and crisp-edged, yolks loose.
Stack
Mound 200 g rice in each bowl, set a patty on top, ladle the gravy over patty and rice, crown with an egg, and scatter scallions.
Mound 200 g rice in each bowl, set a patty on top, ladle the gravy over patty and rice, crown with an egg, and scatter scallions.
09
Sensory cues of doneness
- Visual: white rice, a dark mahogany patty, glossy brown gravy, a set ivory white and a domed orange yolk.
- Auditory: a sharp sizzle as the cold beef lands, then a thick bubble as the stock goes into the roux.
- Olfactory: seared beef, toasted roux, Worcestershire, sweet onion, sizzling butter.
Check the stack: white rice, dark-crusted patty, glossy brown gravy, set egg white and loose orange yolk. Expect sizzling then thick gravy bubbles, with beef, toasted roux, Worcestershire, onion and butter aromas.

Troubleshooting

Dense, rubbery patties.: Overworked beef. Mix with a light hand and shape without compacting.
A hard yolk.: Too hot, or a lid. Medium-low, uncovered; the runny yolk is the sauce.
Lumpy, floury gravy.: Cold stock dumped in fast. Cook the roux two full minutes and whisk hot stock in gradually.

Substitutions

One-to-one swaps, with the technique change each one needs.

Ingredient substitutions

Ingredient	Replace with	Culinary impact and technique adjustment
Ground chuck 80/20	Ground wagyu, ground short rib, or half beef half pork	Keep 20 percent fat for the crust and the fond
Beef bone stock	Roasted chicken stock with 1 tsp beef bouillon paste	Gelatin and savour
Calrose rice	Koshihikari or any medium-grain sushi rice	The same sticky, cohesive scoop

Scaling

Half

Two patties from 340 g; gravy in an 8-inch pan with 300 ml stock, 15 g butter, 15 g flour.

Double

Eight patties across two skillets so they sear rather than steam; gravy doubled in a wide sauté pan.

What to serve it with

Hawaiian macaroni salad, cold against the hot tower
Pickled red onion ribbons in cane vinegar
An iced passion-orange drink

Questions

Ground pork or turkey?

The original demands 80/20 chuck for the fond. Drive-ins do serve pork moco and Spam moco, though.

Which rice?

Medium-grain, ideally Calrose. It holds together in a moist scoop that catches the gravy.

Cornstarch gravy?

Yes, for the clear glossy drive-in style: whisk 2 Tbsp cornstarch into 3 Tbsp cold water and stir into simmering seasoned stock.