A Pound Of Ground Beef Starts This Hearty Hawaiian Comfort Meal That's Ready In 30 Minutes

The cuisine of Hawaii is a beautiful blend of offerings from many different cultures. There is, of course, the backbone of Polynesian cuisine, but it has been heavily influenced over the years by the others that arrived to the island chain, bringing with them their own ingredients and techniques. In addition to perhaps better-known Hawaiian dishes like poke and spam musubi, there is one ubiquitous beef-based dish that is inexpensive, easy to make, and endlessly comforting: a classic plate of loco moco.

Loco moco is a simple dish at its heart, but it is also a perfect example of the melding of cultures that defines the cuisine of the Aloha State. There is some variation in how it is prepared, but the basics of loco moco typically include hamburger patties served over a pile of rice drowned in brown gravy and topped with fried eggs. It is comfort food at its finest — warm, savory, filling, and delicious — and it is definitely one of the Hawaiian dishes that you need to try at least once.

Making Hawaii's most iconic breakfast dish is about as easy as our description makes it sound. All you need to do is fry up burgers in a skillet and pop them over some nice fluffy rice. Using the leftover beef fat in the pan as well as some butter, you can then make a roux and add beef broth to finish the gravy. Giving the sauce a bit of Island flair never hurts, though, with ingredients like sweet Maui onions, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil all lending their own unique savor. Then just top the burgers and rice with gravy and a fried egg, sprinkle on a few thinly sliced scallions, and serve.

The origins of this savory Hawaiian dish are reflected in its simplicity, but it is a simplicity that matches the relaxed nature of Hawaiian life. Loco moco is said to have originated in the 1940s at a restaurant called Lincoln Grill in Hilo as an inexpensive plate to fill up the hungry students from the nearby high school. From those humble beginnings, though, the dish clearly caught on, now finding itself on menus throughout the islands and even across the wide Pacific ocean in mainland eateries as well.

As loco moco has traveled, the recipe has become somewhat variable. Some of the minor differences might be that one cook prefers to make the gravy with mushrooms, while others prefer it without. More significant changes show up in the form of things like different proteins in the patties, with some restaurants swapping the traditional beef for things as wild as Portuguese sausage or mahi mahi — both very Hawaiian ingredients, if significant departures. It can be turned into an upscale dish, but at its core it is humble comfort food, and something that can be whipped up with just some ground beef and a few kitchen staples.

Next time you find yourself with a pound of beef and a craving for comfort food, look no further than this classic Hawaiian loco moco recipe. So long as the kitchen is also stocked with rice, flour, eggs, butter, and beef bouillon, you're only half an hour away from a delicious, Island-style meal.