Loco moco is a dish native to Hawaiian cuisine. There are many variations, but the essential loco moco consists of white rice, topped with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. Variations may include chili, bacon, ham, Spam, kalua pork, Portuguese sausage, teriyaki beef, teriyaki chicken, mahi-mahi, shrimp, oysters, and other meats. Loco Moco is also the name of a Hawaiian-based restaurant chain that serves Hawaiian rice bowl dishes.
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James Kelly, a University of Hawaii-Hilo professor, wrote that the dish was created in 1949 by the Inouye family, who owned the Lincoln Grill in Hilo, Hawaii. A group of boys from the Lincoln Wreckers sports club contributed to the creation of the name 'loco moco'. The actual dish had likely been served in various forms in many restaurants, but the name loco moco was created at the Lincoln Grill. The boys did not have a lot of spending money, so they asked Nancy Inouye to put some rice in a saimin bowl, a hamburger patty atop the rice and brown gravy over both. She charged twenty-five cents for this, much less than a hamburger steak entree. The egg was added later. One of the boys, George Okimoto, was nicknamed "Crazy" because of the wild way he played football. Several of the Wreckers were enrolled in a Spanish class at the local high school and knew that "crazy" in Spanish language is loco, so the boys named the dish loco moco. Moco had no special meaning except it rhymed with loco. In fact, moco in Spanish means mucus, or more commonly, "snot", which may actually have been a reference to the fried egg, when served "runny". It is possible that the boys intended to call the dish "crazy snot". At first it was not on the regular menu but, because of its popularity with the Wreckers, it became a fixture at Lincoln Grill.
The dish is widely popular in Hawaii and now on the menu at many restaurants in the mainland. In keeping with the standards of Japanese cuisine, rice is used as a staple starch, finished off with the hamburger, gravy, and fried eggs to create a dish that does not require the preparation time of bento. Loco moco can be found in various forms on many Pacific islands from Hawaii to Samoa to Guam and Saipan.