This is Loco Moco, a Hawaiian dish consisting of jasmine rice, homemade burger patty, mushroom and onion beef gravy, and a fried egg topped with chives. It's the ultimate comfort food and takes less than 30 minutes to make.
The best thing about this recipe is that we make the hamburger patties from scratch using a handful of ingredients including ground beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, onion, salt, and pepper. The mushroom and onion gravy is made by frying garlic, onion, and mushrooms with beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and ketchup.
Watch How to Make It:
If you're looking for more comforting beef recipes, then check out my bulgogi fried rice dish or my egg noodles with ground beef recipe!
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About Emily's Loco Moco Recipe
Texture: this is comfort food at its finest, so expect easy, soft, meaty textures with a lovely egg ooze from the fried egg.
Taste: umami-rich onion and mushroom gravy with a creaminess from the egg, followed by tangy, sweet, savoury beef patty, with the lightly fragrant jasmine rice. The chopped chives also give loco moco a nice freshness.
Ease: It's simple to follow but requires a handful of multi-tasking. You've got to make your rice, homemade patty, fry off the patty, make the mushroom and onion gravy, then fry off an egg. You've got this!
Top Tips: To keep the beef patties warm, preheat your oven to around 150C/300F and place them in there, until the gravy, rice, and eggs are ready.
Would I make this again? Absolutely! It's so comforting and a really simple meal to prepare during the week.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Ground beef: the higher the fat %, the juicier your patties will taste. So you can go for around 20% fat, but for a leaner patty, go for around 5% fat. If you don't have ground beef, you could opt for a pork patty. If you're wanting to make this vegetarian or vegan, get yourself a beef mince alternative (I love meatless farm's beef mince) and then follow the recipe.
Breadcrumbs: freshly blended breadcrumbs are great for this patty recipe. They soak up all the juices and help bind the mixture. You can use panko breadcrumbs too. Feel free to use gluten-free breadcrumbs for those intolerant to gluten.
Onion: freshly chopped onion adds sweetness and moisture to our loco moco patties. You can use white, red, or shallots.
Worcestershire sauce: this adds tang, umami, and a lovely flavour to our burger patties.
Egg: we'll need an egg for our patty mixture which helps bind everything together, and we'll need some eggs to fry, to place on top of our dish.
Mushrooms: we're using shiitake mushrooms for this recipe, but you can use any kind you like.
Beef broth: this is for our gravy, you can alternatively use beef stock. I'd recommend using mushroom or veggie broth for a vegetarian or vegan option.
Soy sauce: light soy sauce is perfect to add that salty umami flavour to our gravy. You can also add dark soy sauce to get a darker colour in the gravy!
Ketchup: has a lovely sweet and tangy flavour. If you don't have ketchup, you could use bbq sauce.
Garlic: fresh garlic cloves. If you don't have fresh ones, use granules.
Butter: I use lightly salted butter which adds a nice creaminess to our gravy. Feel free to use a plant-based version if need be (Flora is my favourite).
Jasmine rice: for the base of our loco moco recipe, we need rice. I love using jasmine rice, but you can use whatever rice you like including sushi rice which is much stickier.
For the full ingredients list and exact quantities, scroll down to the recipe card.
Step by step instructions with photos
Step 1: Combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 chopped onion, a grind of black pepper and pinch of salt in a bowl to make the beef patty mixture.
Step 2: Form into 6 x 85g patties using your hands. Set aside on a plate ready to be fried.
Step 3: Place a large skillet/frying pan on medium heat and drizzle with a bit of oil. Then add in your patties and fry on each side for 4 minutes until golden brown and cooked in the centre. Remove and set aside on a plate (tip: keep warm in the oven at 150C/300F).
Step 4: Prepare your jasmine rice according to packet instructions. Next, make your mushroom and onion gravy. In your beef patty frying pan, add in onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Fry for 5 minutes until the onions have softened. Then, add in the butter. Once melted, sift in the flour and give everything a good mix. Pour in the beef stock, light soy sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and bring to the boil. Simmer on medium until the gravy has thickened. Taste and season accordingly.
Step 5: Place a large non-stick pan on medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Crack in 6 eggs and cook for 3-5 minutes until the white part is solid.
Step 6: Once your rice is cooked, gravy has thickened, and eggs are ready...divide the rice between your plates. Top with a burger patty, gravy, and a fried egg. Sprinkle with chopped chives and enjoy!
What to do with leftovers
Storage: Leave any leftovers to cool, then store in airtight containers. You can either store the burgers, rice, and gravy altogether, or in separate containers. Place in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezing: Freeze the cooked burger patties in one container and the gravy in an another. Label and store for up to 3 months. I'd recommend preparing the rice and eggs fresh for when you want to eat loco moco.
Reheating: The best way to reheat everything is either to place the container in the microwave (lid ajar) and heat until piping hot. Or, you can reheat the burgers in the oven, the gravy in a pan, and the rice in the microwave. I'd recommend making eggs fresh!
FAQs
For sure, just make sure to use gluten-free breadcrumbs and gluten-free soy sauce.
Yes, just swap out the beef mince with a plant-based alternative - I love meatless farm's ground beef. Then use veggie stock/broth instead of beef broth for the gravy.
I'd love loco moco with a side of roasted broccoli, some kidney beans, or a side salad.
For sure! It wouldn't be traditional, but serving it with a baked potato, toasted bread, or couscous would be great options.
More recipes you might enjoy!
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Loco Moco (My Favorite Recipe)
Ingredients
- 450 g jasmine rice
- 6 eggs
- 10 g chives finely chopped
For the burger patties
- 500 g ground beef
- 30 g breadcrumbs
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper
For the gravy
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms finely sliced
- 2 onions finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 40 g butter
- 4 tablespoon plain flour
- 1 L beef broth or beef stock
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon ketchup
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 chopped onion, a grind of black pepper and pinch of salt in a bowl to make the beef patty mixture.
- Form into 6 x 85g patties using your hands. Set aside on a plate ready to be fried.
- Place a large skillet/frying pan on medium heat and drizzle with a bit of oil. Then add in your patties and fry on each side for 4 minutes until golden brown and cooked in the centre (don't wash the pan). Remove and set aside on a plate (tip: keep warm in the oven at 150C/300F).
- Prepare your jasmine rice according to packet instructions.
- Next, make your mushroom and onion gravy. In your beef patty frying pan, add in onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Fry for 5 minutes until the onions have softened. Then, add in the butter. Once melted, sift in the flour and give everything a good mix. Pour in the beef stock, light soy sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir and bring to the boil. Simmer on medium until the gravy has thickened (5-10 minutes). Taste and season accordingly.
- Place a large non-stick pan on medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Crack in 6 eggs and cook for 3-5 minutes until the white part is solid.
- Once your rice is cooked, gravy has thickened, and eggs are ready...divide the rice between your plates. Top with a burger patty, gravy, and a fried egg. Sprinkle with chopped chives and enjoy!
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