Loco Moco

I am really not big on breakfast. It’s not that i don’t like eating it; it’s more the fact that I like to keep breakfast simple. Turkey bacon and eggs, waffles, simple omelets, and sometimes I even make pancakes. Today I wanted something a little different, and as usual, it needed to be relatively easy. This year I have been on a Hawaiian kick, since my trip there this past summer. My first day in Honolulu I was unable to sleep because of jet lag (Hawaii is 6 hours behind NYC), so my girlfriend and I decided on taking a quick walk at 5am, which ended up being a 8 mile walk. We came across a local food stand along the way which served up breakfast and lunch. Now i must say, Hawaiian breakfast dishes were an odd combination of things that I was not used to eating such as Portuguese sausage, Char siu and eggs, and Spam is a favorite there as well. Heck, Spam and Portuguese Sausage are served with rice and eggs in McDonalds as a replacement to bacon & ham breakfast. I don’t eat pork so these items did not appeal to me, but one local dish stood out to me, Loco Moco!

Loco Moco

Loco Moco is truly a comfort food and a unique dish to the region and not something I usually would eat for breakfast. There are many variations of this meal, but the dish is basically a hamburger patty, fried egg, rice, and brown gravy. You can use chili, bacon, ham, Spam, pork, Mahi Mahi, or whatever you choose.  In my version I used ground veal  instead of beef , since it is was the only protein I had available in the fridge for this type of meal. I seasoned the meat with a spice mix I purchased during my visit to the islands, which consisted of a ton of local ingredients. I then fried up the burger and used the drippings to make a herb gravy, I served it up with a fried egg and rice, just as it’s done in Hawaii. While this is not a typical NYC breakfast, it was simply delicious and hearty, and I intend on making this part of my breakfast rotation! Bon Appetit!