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American · Pacific Island

Loco moco

Non-vegetarian

Hawaiian comfort food: a mound of white rice topped with a juicy beef patty, a fried egg and rich brown onion gravy.

Loco moco is an American main course from United States, ready in about 40 minutes and made with short-grain rice, ground beef and egg. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Loco moco: rice topped with a hamburger patty smothered in brown gravy
Photo: California Cow from Seattle, USA / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
30 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
758

Ingredients

4 servings

Gravy

Method

  1. Step 1

    Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then simmer it with 400 ml water, covered, over low heat until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Rest off the heat, lid on, for 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Mix the beef with salt and pepper (opens in a new tab), shape into four patties 1.5 cm thick and fry in half the oil over medium-high heat, 4 minutes per side. Set aside.

    Food safety: Cook minced beef to 71 °C inside.

  3. Step 3

    In the same pan melt the butter (opens in a new tab) and cook the onion (opens in a new tab) and mushrooms (opens in a new tab) until soft. Stir in the flour, then whisk in the stock, soy sauce (opens in a new tab) and Worcestershire and simmer until glossy and thick.

    • 8 min
    • medium heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels
  4. Step 4

    Fry the eggs (opens in a new tab) sunny-side up in the remaining oil until the whites are set and the yolks still runny.

    • 4 min
    • medium heat
  5. Step 5

    Pile rice into bowls, add a patty, pour over the gravy and top with an egg (opens in a new tab) and spring onion (opens in a new tab).

    • 2 min
    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Hilo, Hawaii, United States · Commonly attributedUsually traced to a Hilo diner in the late 1940s.More food from United States
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Rice dishes
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Steamed, Simmered
Taste
savoury, umami, rich
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Child-friendly · Everyday
Techniques
Pan-frying · Simmering · Steaming

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom butter
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Fishfrom worcestershire sauce
  • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, soy sauce
  • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce
  • Contains: Soyfrom soy sauce
  • May contain: Celeryfrom beef stock, worcestershire sauce
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom worcestershire sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

758 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 414 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 20%
  • Carbohydrate 36%
  • Fat 44%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy758 kcal183 kcal
Protein37.7 g9.1 g
Carbohydrate67.3 g16.3 g
Net carbohydrate——
Sugars——
Added sugars——
Fibre——
Fat36 g8.7 g
Saturated fat12.6 g3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol284 mg69 mg
Sodium1107 mg267 mg
Salt equivalent2.8 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
782 mg
Calcium
71 mg
Iron
4.8 mg
Magnesium
61 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
—
Vitamin C
2 mg
Vitamin D
1.1 µg
Vitamin B12
3.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
55 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: mushrooms, spring onion.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Serve with

  • Add a scoop of macaroni salad for a Hawaiian plate-lunch feel.

Food safety

  • Cook beef patties to 71 °C in the centre.
  • Runny yolks carry a small salmonella risk; cook them firm for young children, pregnant or elderly diners.
  • Don't hold cooked rice warm for long: cool and refrigerate within 1 hour.

Storage

  • Refrigerate patties and gravy up to 3 days; fry eggs fresh.

Reheating

  • Reheat patties in the gravy until piping hot.

Variations

  • Spam loco moco: Swap the beef patty for slices of fried Spam.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4

Reviews & corrections

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