How to Make Hawaiian Loco Moco

When Joe and I went to Hawaii a month ago we went to a restaurant called Loco Moco that he had on his bucket list of things to do there.  I have no idea why they don't have that place in the states!  The food was awesome!  Hawaiian BBQ meats with rice and their signature dish of Loco Moco.  Joe actually ordered that and I got BBQ pork chops the first day (yes, we went two days in a row!) and we both left raving about it.  Anyway, I have been thinking about it ever since and last night I made a recipe that I found online to try it.  We both thought it turned out really good, so am posting it so I don't forget what I tweeked with it.  Here goes:

LOCO MOCO:

Prepare White Short Grain Rice-this will be for 4 servings, so make the amount you would like to eat with these.  I had about 2 cups.

For the gravy:
In a large frying pan add a little extra virgin olive oil.

Add one medium onion that has been diced finely and cook on medium heat until it's translucent and slightly caramelized.  Separate in half and remove half of it into a medium bowl to use for the hamburger patties.

add 6 mushrooms that have been cleaned and diced finely (or half a small can of sliced mushrooms that have been chopped finely) and continue cooking until mushrooms are cooked.

Add 1-1/2 cups beef stock, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce, a small amount of your preference of salt, some ground black pepper.  Bring to a simmer.  In a small bowl, make a slurry of 1 Tablespoon of corn starch and 1 Tbsp of water and slowly stir it into the broth to thicken.  Add 1 Tablespoon of Accent or MSG to enhance the flavor.  NEXT TIME I WILL MAKE DOUBLE THE GRAVY-WE BOTH WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE MORE TO ADD, ALTHOUGH IT WAS FINE.  Set aside on low heat to keep warm.

(I actually had a little bit of KFC gravy in my fridge and dumped it in too to use it up and since we liked the taste I might do that again, although it was good without it too)

For the patties: Place all in the bowl with the onions you set aside.
1 lb of lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs (they say panko can be used-I used regular)
2 Tbsp of milk
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
pepper
Mix thoroughly with your hands and form into 4 patties that are slightly flattened.

Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray or use a small amount of the olive oil.  Fry patties until thoroughly cooked through.  Add to gravy and warm thoroughly.

Eggs:
In a smaller fry pan, fry 4 eggs just until centers are still soft and slightly runny (you break the egg once it's on the stack to let it run down it a little)

ASSEMBLY:
Rice goes on the bottom, then patty with gravy, then fried egg..you can pour more gravy over the whole thing at this point or eat as is.  They served it with Kimchi or a cucumber salad with a vinegar type sauce..I didn't do that because I was lazy, but would next time because it's good with it.