Chicken Katsu Loco Moco
In my college town, there is a joint called Local Boyz and they made the best Hawaiian fare. Hands down! If you are ever in Corvallis, Oregon get the number 7a (7 or 8 if you are hungry) with Kaila’s Short Ribs and Sweet Shoyu Chicken—you’re welcome. The first time I traveled to Maui, I felt the Hawaii food options didn’t compare.
Eight years ago, I had the opportunity to do an externship in Oahu. While living briefly in Hawaii, a local friend introduced me to Da Kitchen and I finally found something that rivaled Local Boyz. Da Kitchen had two locations and, sadly, their last one on Kahului closed this past July due to COVID. Since I won’t be able to have my favourite dish anymore, the Chicken Katsu Loco Moco, I recreated it.
The Chicken Katsu Loco Moco is incredibly decadent! It starts with a layer of bacon fried rice, topped with hamburger patties, chicken Katsu, over-easy egg, caramelized onions, and smothered with a beef gravy. Sounds like a heart-attack waiting to happen. The portion is so large, it usually takes me three meals to finish it. My version will be a little more refined.
Don’t get overwhelmed! It is a lot of components for one dish, just take it one step at a time. To make it easier on myself, I do a lot of prep work the evening before so that I can just cook on the day that I plan to make the dish.
Ingredients
For the chicken katsu:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
For the hamburger:
1 lb. ground beef
Salt and pepper
For the beef gravy:
1 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup beef broth
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper
For caramelized onions:
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 tsp vegetable oil
Salt
Garnishments:
4 fried eggs
Green onions, sliced
Directions
Start with the onion, peel and cut into slices. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet on medium-low heat. Add onion slices and stir to coat with oil. Let it cook for ten minutes, while stirring occasionally, then add salt. Continue cooking for another 30 minutes more until browned and soften. Set aside for garnishment.
Follow my kim chi fried rice recipe that I previous posted to make the bacon fried rice. You will substitute one cup of kim chi with one cup of chopped, cooked bacon. The bacon texture should cook to your desire level (I prefer mine a little more flimsy than crispy).
After I prep my bacon fried rice, I make the chicken katsu. Lightly pound the chicken thighs 1/2 inch thick and season with salt. Put the flour, eggs, and panko in three separate shallow bowls then season each with some salt and pepper for flavor. Dredge each piece of chicken with flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the eggs, and coat with the panko crumbs. Heat oil in a large skillet or heavy bottomed pot, add chicken and fry over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in the oven.
Form ground beef into hamburger patties, make 4 quarter pound patties. Season them with salt and pepper. On medium-heat heat, cook patties on a skillet for about 4 minutes per side. You want to use a cast-iron pan or skillet because you’ll need the fat to make the gravy.
Reduce heat to medium low, add the flour to the skillet. Cook for 1-2 minutes while continuously stirring. Add 1/2 cup beef broth and soy sauce then whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until thickened.
In a frying pan on medium-high heat, fry the eggs over-easy then set side until needed.
To assemble the loco moco, scoop a bed of bacon fried rice onto a plate and top with the chicken katsu then layer with hamburger patties, followed by the fried egg and caramelized onions. Pour a generous amount of gravy over the dish and garnished with green onions. Aloha, enjoy.
