You know that incredible, savory, can’t-stop-eating flavor you only get at a hibachi restaurant? Forget the reservations, because these recipes unlock the secrets to that garlicky, gingery, soy-sauce-drenched magic.
Your weeknight dinner game is about to get a major upgrade.
1. Hibachi Fried Rice
If you’re looking for a dish to make late at night, this could be it. I’ve found that it really hits the spot when I need something salty and filling.
I make it a point to always have rice on hand since this is a dish best made with leftovers; in other words, cold rice!
While there aren’t really any rules you must follow, a good starting point is to grab some onion, garlic, and diced veggies. If I have any bacon or pork on hand, I enjoy tossing that in as well.
2. Hibachi Noodles
If you’re looking for something simple and satisfying, noodles are the way to go for a light lunch or even a late-night snack. With its simple blend of butter, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, and teriyaki, this recipe is both. You can’t go wrong using this to coat the noodles in a dark, salty-sweet sauce!
These noodles would pair well with pretty much any of the recipes you see here.
3. Hibachi Steak with Fried Rice and Vegetables
If you want to unlock some serious flavor, steak is one of the best foods to cook in the hibachi style. In particular, that extreme heat from cast iron is going to turn your steak slightly crisp on the outside while keeping the inside perfectly juicy.
This steak recipe recommends that you cut the meat into cubes, but I advise keeping the steak whole. Doing so will help keep it from drying out. Sear the meat for a few minutes on each side over high heat, and you’re set!
While the steak rests, get going on the veggies and then slice the steak just before serving.
4. Easy Hibachi Chicken
I’ll admit, I still get a little paranoid when cooking chicken, especially if it’s cooking in a sauce. In those cases, you can’t always see the meat to tell if it’s cooked all the way through!
If you want to get it just right, the key is to use small chunks over high heat. Give it a good sear for around five minutes, and let it finish cooking for another two to three minutes in the sauce.
This recipe keeps it nice and simple with butter, sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce. But if you’re willing to spend a few extra minutes, the yum yum sauce is absolutely to die for!
5. Japanese Clear Soup Recipe
Odds are you’ve tried this soup, since it’s on most hibachi restaurant menus. The broth is a delicious mix of beef and chicken that usually takes days to prep in order to get all those flavors melded together just right. Once the broth has reached its full flavor, you’ll want to remove the veggies and that’s where the “clear soup” name comes from.
I like to roast them and serve them alongside chicken or something so that there’s no waste.
6. Benihana Hibachi Steak with Mushrooms
Have you been to Benihana?
It’s a teppanyaki restaurant that seats guests around a large flattop grill, with a chef at each grill cooking the food right in front of you.
I’d strongly encourage anyone looking for a fun dinner or date idea to give it a try.
To get that wonderful steak, you want to cook with a very high heat.
If you’re using cast iron, you’ll be able to get there easily.
If not, opt for something with a heavy bottom.
This marinade calls for soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil, so it should look pretty familiar.
Be sure to let the steak sit for about an hour, with the last thirty minutes on the counter.
7. Hibachi Vegetables
The best part of cooking veggies over high heat? You’re guaranteed to get a ton of texture! This method is a surefire way to avoid sad, limp, flavorless veggies that lose all their crunch after boiling them.
Of course, if you don’t want your broccoli to be too crunchy, you can always parboil it beforehand. That’ll soften it up just enough.
8. Hibachi Inspired Steak Kabobs
Unless you’re making steak kabobs like these, I usually think you should avoid cutting your steak before you cook it. Cutting it into cubes is one of the only times I think it’s actually a great idea! As the steak cooks, that method unlocks even more of that wonderful crust on the edges, and it helps the steak soak up even more flavor from the marinade.
You’ll want to choose veggies that won’t fall apart easily and won’t burn over high heat. While I like onions and potatoes, mushrooms are a safe bet when serving steak.
9. Ginger Sauce
Asian food, like these Japanese hibachi recipes or even Thai food, relies heavily on sauce. The right sauce is just as important as the rest of the meal.
Without these incredible sauces, you’d just be eating a very bland bowl of chicken and noodles!
Don’t worry, though, because that flavor doesn’t take hours to prep. For most, it’s really as simple as blending together a few key spices with some liquids. This recipe calls for onion, ginger, tamari (or soy sauce), rice vinegar, lemon, and brown sugar, so just blitz it all together and serve!
10. Hibachi Steak Marinade
For a simple steak marinade that anyone can make, this recipe is the way to go if you don’t want to put in the effort to buy rice wine or mirin. Plus, you won’t have to peel any fresh ginger!
This calls for honey, onions, garlic, soy sauce, and sesame oil.
That said, you can easily use whatever oil you have.
This marinade is so great because it works just as well on pork, chicken, shrimp, and salmon. Give it a shot and see what your favorite is!
11. Yum Yum Sauce
Most Japanese hibachi steakhouses serve yum yum sauce. It’s so good that you can add it to pretty much anything, from steak and fried rice to noodles and shrimp.
Like many restaurant sauces, it’s shockingly easy to make, and you probably have most of the ingredients right now. The base is a mix of mayo, ketchup, garlic powder, paprika, and water. If you make a lot of Asian dishes, you probably have rice vinegar and mirin on hand, but if not, you can always swap the mirin out for white wine or even just some sugar.
12. Hibachi Zucchini
Does anyone else buy zucchini and leave it in the fridge for way too long, unsure of what to do with it? If you’re anything like me, you may also find zucchini to be a little bland, so you end up making zucchini bread instead.
But that doesn’t have to be the case! If you need a fresh, crunchy, and healthy side, this hibachi zucchini and onions recipe is perfect.
I love these with chili-garlic glazed salmon or with a bowl of simple fried rice.
13. Hibachi Sweet Carrots
If you need a welcome addition to most meals, carrots are naturally sweet and wonderfully bright.
When making hibachi-style dishes, there’s often a ton of flavor coming from salty ingredients like soy and teriyaki. But fear not, because there’s plenty of sweetness to be found, too, from things like sugar and honey.
With that in mind, these sweet, buttery carrots are a nice side to serve with your next hibachi dinner.
14. Hibachi Shrimp
When making hibachi at home, shrimp is one of the best proteins to work with because the super high heats sear meat and seafood, sealing in all of that natural flavor.
Since shrimp cooks in just a few minutes, you can throw together a whole meal before everyone’s even sat down at the table. You also won’t need to stress over whether anything’s undercooked.
Once the shrimp turns pink, it’s all set to eat!
15. Japanese-Style Grilled Fish
If you’ve ever tried to marinate fish and found that it always comes out mushy, chances are you let it sit for way too long. You might need to marinate chicken for a few hours so it can soak up all those flavors, but fish is completely different, especially if you’re using citrus! Ingredients like lime, lemon, or orange will actually start to pickle the fish.
To prevent it from turning out this way, go for oily fish, such as salmon, marlin, bluefish, or mackerel. Even with oily fish, only marinate for fifteen to thirty minutes.
Best of all, this Japanese-style marinade doesn’t include any citrus, so you can marinate oily fish for hours!