Vegan Loco Moco – A Great Twist to a Classic Hawaiian Dish!
Loco Moco is such an iconic local Hawaii dish and personally one of my favorite dishes to eat as I grew up in Hawaii. So of course, I had to make my own Vegan Loco Moco!
When people ask me what they need to try if they visit Hawaii, my first recommendation is to try a Loco Moco. It is such a simple dish yet it is incredibly delicious!
A Loco Moco consists of rice topped with a hamburger patty, followed by a sunny side up or easy over egg, and finished with loads of gravy.
When I decided to try and “veganize” all my childhood favorites, this was the first thing that popped into my head. After months of recipe testing, I have finally cracked the code and developed this Vegan Loco Moco. Not only did I recreate it, but I made it easy and healthy!
The three most important factors of the Loco Moco that I recreated is a vegan burger patty, vegan egg, and vegan gravy.
- The Vegan Burger recipe is a great recipe that works to nearly “mimic” what a regular hamburger patty may look or taste like.
- The Vegan Egg will blow your mind with how realistic it looks and tastes.
- Finally, the Vegan Gravy is perfect because it is a nice brown gravy that does not taste like mushrooms.
Give this ‘Ono Hawaiian dish a shot! Let me know what you think of the recipe in the comments section below or on any of my social media platforms. If you’re posting on Instagram, make sure to tag me at @nuttinelli and include #nuttinelli so I can see your amazing creations!
TIPS & TRICKS
- Walnuts: Adding some chopped up walnuts will add that “meaty” texture that some people enjoy
- Kidney Beans: Kidney Beans are recommended to provide a color that reflects a hamburger patty. They also don’t affect the taste of the overall burger, as black beans may.
THE MORE YOU KNOW
Black Salt (Kala Namak)
Black Salt is an Indian salt that provides an “eggy” taste and if you take a sniff you will know what I mean. This can be found in health grocery stores in the international section or ordered online through Amazon.
Silken Tofu
This type of tofu is extremely soft in comparison to others and blends up very smoothly. This can be found in most grocery stores in the refrigerated section near the dairy products.
Flaxseed Egg
Flaxseed meal comes from grinded/blended up flaxseeds. When combined with water, it creates a consistency similar to egg. Therefore, it serves as a great replacer for eggs when making baked goods. You can buy Flaxseed seeds and grind/blend it up to make flaxseed meal yourself or you can buy premade flaxseed meal. These both are available at most grocery stores.
Liquid Aminos
I recommend you try to incorporate Liquid Aminos because it is a great healthy soy sauce alternative more into your life. This can be found in most grocery stories in the condiments section. Check out my Soy Sauce Alternatives post!
Nutritional Yeast (Nooch)
Nutritional Yeast provides a nutty flavor that many associate with a cheesy flavor profile. Great source of B12 and can be found in most grocery stores in the condiments section.
THANKS FOR READING
I hope you have fun recreating this iconic Hawaiian dish and I hope this inspires you to try and recreate some of your own childhood dishes in a healthier and of course delicious manner!
– Janelle
Vegan Loco Moco
Ingredients
General
- 6 cups Cooked Brown Rice
- Sliced Green Onion for topping
Vegan Burger
- 1 cup Mushroom diced
- 1 cup Yellow Onion diced
- 15 oz Red Kidney Beans drained, rinsed, and dried
- 1 cup Cooked Brown Rice
- 5 tbsp Flaxseed Meal
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1 tbsp Liquid Aminos or soy sauce
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ tsp Ground Cumin
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- ¼ cup Chopped Walnuts optional
- 3 tsp Olive Oil
- Salt to Taste
Vegan Egg
- 1 cup Silken Tofu
- 1 tsp Black Salt
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch
- ¼ cup Pumpkin Puree or steamed Sweet Potato
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Nutritional Yeast
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 1-2 tbsp Water to thin
Vegan Gravy
- 3 tbsp Vegan Butter
- 5 tbsp Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 cup Vegetable Broth
- 1 tsp Poultry Seasoning
Instructions
Vegan Burger
- Drain and rinse the Red Kidney Beans. Chop up all the vegetables.
- Sautee the Onion in 1½ tsp of Olive Oil util slightly brown.
- Sautee the Mushrooms in 1½ tsp of Olive Oil. After a few minutes, add in the Ground Cumin. Continue to sautee until slightly crispy.
- Combine the Red Kidney Beans, Onion, Tomato Paste, Liquid Aminos, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, and Flaxseed Meal in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Add the Mushrooms into the food processor and blend to mix. You don't want the mushrooms blended smooth.
- Move the mixture to a bowl and fold in the brown rice and walnuts (if using walnuts).
- Form and ball and refrigerate for 15 minutes. This can be skipped if desired.
- Form 6 patties on parchment paper.
- Grill at 400°F for 7 minutes on each side. Or you can bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Vegan Egg
- Blend the Silken Tofu, ½ tsp Black Salt, and Cornstarch until smooth to form the Vegan Egg White.
- Separately, blend the remaining Vegan Egg ingredients to form the Vegan Yolk. If using Sweet Potato, cube and steam for 15 – 20 minutes.
- In a pan on medium heat, lay down two tablespoons of Egg White mixture and form into an oval. Place a teaspoon of Egg Yolk mixture into the middle of the Egg White mixture.
- Cover the Vegan Egg and fry for 2-4 minutes.
Vegan Gravy
- Melt the butter over low heat in a pot. Sift in the Flour and make sure no clumps form.
- Warm up this roux until fragrant.
- Add in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Toss in the Poultry Seasoning.
- Bring to a simmer. Serve right away or keep warm!