Loco Moco

I have had a rocky relationship with Loco Moco. First, what is it? First, Loco Moco is Hawaiian. Very Hawaiian. I first heard about it when I was going to school in Hawaii. To be honest, I was pretty grossed out by it! Your basic loco moco is a pan fried hamburger patty with a sunny side egg on a plate of rice with gravy. And a side of mac salad. Add sausage, bacon, and pretty much anything else you can think of.

There was many, many places in Hawaii that serve loco moco. I found them all pretty nasty and avoided locomoco for years as a result! Its a shame really. Or perhaps an acquired taste...

I just came back from Hawaii, and we went to the Big Island. It was a fantastic trip and the loco moco on the Big Island, especially Hilo, is delicious! This is perhaps apropos, as the loco moco started in on Hilo.

The first place we had it was a restaurant called Cafe 100. They have a huge variety of loco moco, and they are all delicious! Later on, we stopped at Verna's Cafe. This was a hole in the wall restaurant next to a gas station, but oh, man! Their locomoco was the bomb! I was hooked after that!

When we got back to Oakland, we decided to try our own Locomoco. I have to say, we did pretty good! I was most impressed! This was a joint effort between me and my new wife Robyn! Way to go!

Needless to say, good fresh ingredients really make this meal! We got free range grass fed beef  and free range eggs from Marin Sun Farms. Marin Sun Farms is located up in Marin County. It's beautiful country up there, and they really take the time and effort to raise healthy grass fed animals. Everything Marin Sun Farms makes its tasty-and that taste really make a difference in the final product!

Ingredients
Ground beef
2 or 3 Eggs
Homemade bread crumbs
Seasoning for the beef (I used Harissa and cumin)
Vegetable oil
White flour
Cooked white rice


Procedure
Crack one egg and beat. Add the meat and mix with your hands or a fork. Add some breadcrumbs to the ground meat. If the meat doesn't pack well, add one more beaten egg and some more breadcrumbs.
Add any seasoning you want to the beef. I used Harissa and cumin. Do not add salt, however, as that will dry out the meat and all the flavor will run away. Shape meat into patties.

Add some vegetable oil to a fry pan and heat. Once the oil is hot enough, cook the hamburger in the oil. Flip when one side is done. Remove and set aside once the second side is cooked.











When you have finished cooking the hamburger, there should be some excess vegetable oil still in your pan, mixed with some of the fat from the hamburger. Add some flour to that oil, and with a whisk, stir is vigorously for several minutes on low heat until the flour incorporates and becomes a gravy.







In a separate pan, add some oil and cook the egg, sunny side up. Continue to cook the egg until the white part is cooked and crispy, but the yolk is runny.












Put a scoop of rice on your plate and place the hamburger patty on top of the rice. Gently transfer the egg on top of the hamburger patty. The yolk should be cooked but runny so it breaks on top of the patty.
Pour some of the gravy on top of all of that and eat!

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