Ono Grindz 808
Plate Lunch

Island-Style Chili

Thick, faintly sweet chili over rice with cheese and a fried egg. The ultimate local diner order.

Prep15 min
Cook1 hr
Total1 hr 15 min
Serves8

Hawaii chili isn't Texas red or Cincinnati-style — it's thicker, a little sweeter, closer to a stew, and it goes over rice, never crackers. Order it 'chili rice' and you'll get a scoop over two scoops of rice with a snowdrift of shredded cheese and diced onion on top. Add a fried egg and it becomes 'chili moco.'

Every diner has its own ratio, but the throughline is the same: ground beef, beans, tomato, a touch of brown sugar, and a long simmer so it thickens into something you can eat with a spoon over rice without everything running to the edges of the plate.

How fo’ make ’um

  1. Brown the ground beef in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain excess fat, leaving a couple tablespoons behind.
  2. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and sauté until the onion softens, about 4 minutes.
  3. Stir in chili powder, brown sugar, and Worcestershire, and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
  4. Add the tomato sauce, kidney beans, and water. Bring to a simmer.
  5. Simmer uncovered 45 minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until thick enough that a spoon dragged through leaves a trail. Add splashes of water if it thickens too fast; season with salt and pepper at the end.
  6. Spoon over rice, top with shredded cheese and a scatter of raw diced onion. Add a fried egg on top for chili moco.

Local tips

  • It should be thick — closer to a stew you'd serve over rice than a soup you'd eat with crackers.
  • Some kitchens stir a scoop of the chili into a bowl of saimin instead of over rice. Also correct.
  • Freezes beautifully. Make a double batch and you've got dinner solved for a month of Tuesdays.

Keep grinding

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