Loco Moco and Spam Musubi

Today we will be featuring two Hawaiian Dishes known to locals as Loco Moco and Spam Musubi.

Loco Moco

Loco Moco is a contemporary Hawaiian dish that is consists of a bed of rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg or two, and some gravy. For today's dish we will be keeping is simple, but you can easily spice this simple dish up with some bacon, ham, or ropa vieja for a cuban twist.

Ingredients:

For the Rice:

• 2 Cups Rice
• 3.5 Cups Chicken Broth

For the Burgers:

• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 Medium Onion Diced
• 1 Egg
• Salt and Pepper

For the Egg:

• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Butter

For the Gravy:

• 2 Cups Beef Broth
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon Butter

Recipe

For the Rice: Rinse rice under water until it runs clear. Add the rice and chicken broth to the rice cooker and turn it on. It should be ready in roughly 15-20 minutes depending on the make and model. Fluff with a fork and cover. Keep it warm until it's time to be used.

For the Burgers: Mix together the ground beef, diced onion, some salt and pepper, and an egg in a large mixing bowl. Form the meat into 4 equal patties. Heat a nonstick griddle to medium high heat and add the patties cooking for 3-4 minutes on the first side until its nicely browned. Flip the meat and continue to cook until the desired level of doneness, about 3 minutes should yield a medium-rare patty. Remove from the heat and rest in a warm place.

For the Gravy: Add 1 Tablespoon of Butter to the pan with the burger drippings. Add any remaining onions and saute until golden brown, roughly 5 minutes. Add the Beef Broth and bring to a boil then let it reduce for 2-3 mintues. In a separate bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water, the colder the better, to make a slurry. Slowly add into the gravy, stirring constantly until thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and keep warm until ready for use.

For the eggs: Add the remaining butter to a nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Crack in the eggs and cook sunny-side up, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove and keep warm.

To serve: Place the cooked rice on a plate, place the burgers on top, then the eggs and finally the gravy.

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Spam Musubi

Spam musubi is a popular snack and lunch food in Hawaii composed of a slice of grilled Spam on top of a block of rice, wrapped together with nori dried seaweed in the tradition of Japanese omusubi.

Ingredients:

• 1 Can of Spam
• .5 Cups Soy Sauce
• 5 - 6 Nori Sheets cut in half lengthwise
• 4 - 5 Cups of Cooked Calrose Rice
• 3 Tablespoons of Sugar

Recipe

Cut Spam into 10 slices. Fry until slightly crispy. Remove and drain on plate lined with paper towels. In another pan, combine soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low. Add Spam slices, coating them in the mixture. When mixture has thickened, remove Spam from pan.

Lay a sheet of nori lengthwise on a clean surface. Moisten lower half of musubi maker, and place in the middle of the nori sheet. Fill musubi maker with rice and press flat until the rice is 1/2-inch high, top with a slice of Spam, and then add another layer of rice on top and press to 1/2-inch thick again. Remove musubi maker and keep in a bowl of water to keep it clean and moist.

Starting at the bottom end towards you, fold nori over Spam and rice stack. Moisten the Nori with some water on the end to help it stick and then roll the top third toward you and press it on to the moistened nori sheet from the botton section. Slightly dampen the end of the nori to seal it. Repeat with the other nine Spam slices, making sure to rinse off musubi maker after each use to prevent it from getting too sticky.

Note: You can also use an empty Spam can that has been opened on both sides for the musubi mold, using a spoon to press down on the rice.

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