Hawaiian Comfort Food: the Loco Moco

If you find yourself at a corner store in Hawaii, you'll likely be able to sample Hawaii's version of fast food - the loco moco. The foundation of this traditional Hawaiian comfort food is a bed of rice. A traditional loco moco tops the rice with a ground beef patty and an egg. Then the entire dish is smothered in gravy. Invented in the 1940s in Hilo, this gigantic dish is best shared with a friend.

To get a better idea of the loco moco, here is my description (sing it to the tune of The Loco-Motion by Grand Funk Railroad).

Everybody's eatin' some comfort food now
Come on, baby, eat a loco moco
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance, now
Come on, baby, eat a loco moco
You'll find it in Hawaii with a lot of ease
It's tastier to eat than your black-eyed peas
So come on, come on, and eat a loco moco with me

You got to get a bowl now
Add rice, add meat, add egg
Then top it all with some gravy whoa whoa

Now that you can make it, then find a friend now
Come on, baby, eat a loco moco
Breakfast, lunch or dinner you've got a choice now
Come on, baby, eat a loco moco
Change it up with different meat but don't lose control
It's quite a lot of food to put into your bowl.
Well, come on, come on, and eat a loco moco with me

While the main ingredients of the loco moco are rice, eggs, and gravy, you'll find many variations when it comes to the meat. Don't be surprised to find fish, Spam, sausage, chicken, or pork substituted for the hamburger patty.

The loco moco isn't found only at corner stores. Many restaurants serve it with perhaps the biggest found at Ken's House of Pancakes in Hilo on the Big Island. Their Sumo Loco boasts six scoops of rice, your choice of Spam, two ground beef patties, or mahi-mahi, and three eggs all smothered in gravy. If you order the Sumo Loco, the staff will bang the Sumo pan hanging by the grill and yell "Sumo!"