Must Love SPAM - Hawaiian Inspired Loco Moco, My Version

I've never had Loco Moco until I moved to California. And in the 5 months, we've been here... I've eaten/tasted it 3 times and fairly enjoyed it. The first time I tasted it was at a Japanese restaurant in LA, when the husband ordered a Hamburg Curry Loco Moco Style. It thought it was a weird name and dish...but it was interestingly good.  A couple weeks after that, we scored tickets to the LA Food and Wine festival and one of the best dishes I ate was Sam Choy's Loco Moco. Honestly, I did not know what I ate (at first) but I knew it was SOOOO GOOD.. my friends agreed with me too.... That Loco Moco, came with fried rice, delicious hamburger patty, sunny side up egg with luscious runny yolk and to die to sauce. We tried to go for seconds, and they ran out already. Boo! If only Mr. Sam has a restaurant in the LA area! Anyway, the third time I tried some Loco Moco was at a Hawaiian food chain restaurant; L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. That one looked a bit greasy and tasted ok.

If you are new to Loco Moco, I guess it's basically, rice with burger patties, sunny side up eggs and gravy. It's sort of a Hawaiian comfort food. Not sure what Loco Moco meant, but  don't mind eating more Loco Mocos!

Anyway, with a package of ground pork in the freezer and some SPAM meat (get over it, I love SPAM!) in the fridge, I decided to make my own version of loco moco. There weren't enough SPAM for me to just pan fry it for the husband and I, so I decided to incorporate it into the burger patties. If I had more SPAM, I would have added more. Lol!

Here's my version of Loco Moco... don't be afraid of SPAM!  The recipe is just for the burger patty and gravy. Prepare about 5 servings of steamed white rice and sunny side up eggs (1 or 2  eggs per serving) to go with the burger and gravy! Can't get more Hawaiian that this, Spam & Loco Moco! All I need is my hula skirt and ukelele!

SPAM (PORK) BURGER PATTIES & GRAVY RECIPE
*Makes 10 patties (5 servings)

Spam Burger Patties Ingredients

• 1 lb Ground Pork (not too lean)
• 3-4 Oz Spam, Finely Chopped
• 1 Stalk Green Onion, Finely Chopped
• 1/2 Medium Onion, Grated
• 2 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/4 Tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Oil

Gravy Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock (or More if needed )
• 4 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tsp Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Ketchup
• Ground Pepper

Method

Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl. Divide the mixture into about 10 portions and shape them into a ball then slightly flatten them in a 2" diameter disc, keeping the edges smooth. Make a little dent in the middle of the patties so that the burgers will cook evenly.

Heat 1-1/2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot, place the burger patties onto the pan and let the patties cook for about 3-4 minutes then flip to continue cooking the other side for another 3-4 minutes or until patties are brown and cooked through. The patties should feel somewhat firm when done. Remove the patties and set aside. Do not discard the oil/drippings as you'll use it for the gravy. 

Sieve the oil/drippings into a sauce pan over medium heat. Add flour and stir to let mixture combine. Then whisk in 3/4 Cup of chicken stock, soy sauce, ketchup and sugar. Whisk and let the gravy simmer over medium heat. If the gravy is too thick, add a little more chicken stock or water. Ground some black pepper and the sauce is ready.

Assemble your Loco Moco

Prepare 5 servings of steamed white rice and 5 (or 10) sunny side up eggs. Place 2 spam burger patties and desired amount of eggs on each serving of rice. Drizzle with the gravy and enjoy immediately!

Enjoy!

Simply June