Thinking about trying some Japanese-inspired chicken-based dish? Well, you would barely find anything better than this Benihana spicy hibachi chicken. Today I’m back with the most popular version of this recipe that will just taste like the original spicy hibachi chicken served at Benihana.
Benihana is an American restaurant company based in Aventura, Florida, but it has more than 116 Japanese cuisine restaurants all over the world. It serves a wide range of Japanese-inspired dishes just like the spicy hibachi chicken. When this dish is served with fried rice and sautéed vegetables, you will be out of control and crave it madly!
I still remember that night when I first tasted this chicken dish at Benihana. Some of my friends were also with me. Still, whenever we get time, we go to our local Benihana and order this amazing dish very often. In fact, the taste lingers for a long time then you can ever think of.
So, let’s get started with our today’s copycat Hibachi Chicken recipe.
What is hibachi chicken?
The name of this recipe is partly based on the restaurant name and the equipment used. For cooking this spicy chicken, we have to use a type of grill named Hibachi, which is mainly used in Japanese cooking. Although these grills have cast-iron constructions, they do possess open-grate designs just like the charcoal barbecue.
Hibachi also, especially in North America, refers to a cooking style where food is cooked outside just in front of the guest. Thus, when you cook chopped chicken in this style, the dish becomes Hibachi chicken. Then the chicken is served along with fried rice and sauteed vegetables.
However, the fun fact is even if you don’t cook it in front of the guests, you just get the same taste offered at a hibachi restaurant!
Hibachi vs teriyaki chicken
The ultimate difference between the two types of chicken, although cooked by cutting the meat into bite-sized pieces, lies in the sauce used while cooking.
The former takes soy sauce, while the latter is cooked using a sweet glaze made from soy sauce in which, very often, certain other ingredients are also used. Besides, you may also marinate the teriyaki chicken before cooking, but not the Hibachi chicken.
Ingredients
For Hibachi chicken:
- Finely diced chicken breasts (1 pound)
- Sesame oil (1 tablespoon)
- Finely minced garlic cloves (4 cloves)
- Soy sauce (2 tablespoons)
- Hoisin sauce (2 tablespoons)
- Fresh and finely minced ginger (1 teaspoon)
For the Mustard sauce:
- Dijon mustard (1 tablespoon)
- Rice vinegar (1 tablespoon)
- Soy sauce (1 tablespoon)
- Light mayo (1/2 cup)
For Sauteed vegetables:
- Chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
- Chopped zucchini (1 zucchini)
- Mushrooms (1 cup; sliced in half)
- Thinly sliced carrot (1 carrot)
- Olive oil (1 tablespoon)
- Soy sauce (1 tablespoon)
- To taste, pepper and salt (of your preferable amount)
For Fried rice:
- Cooked white rice (2 cups)
- Finely minced garlic (4 cloves)
- Butter (2 tablespoons)
- Finely sliced onion (4 green onions)
- Egg (1 piece)
- Soy sauce (3 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Take a small bowl and mix all the ingredients for hibachi chicken, and pour the mixture over the chicken.
- Pour in the sauce over the chicken and cook for 12 minutes stirring often on medium-high heat in a large skillet. It may take more time; when thoroughly cooked, remove, set aside, and clean the pan.
- Follow the package direction to cook the rice in a rice cooker (even a stovetop will do the job). To get a head start, you can even prepare the rice 48 hours ahead and prepare the mustard sauce by mixing all the ingredients at the same time.
- After you finish cooking the chicken, clear the pan and pour in some olive.
- Place the vegetable in the pan and season for 5 minutes using soy sauce, pepper, and salt proportionately. When the vegetable turns tender-crisp, remove it from the pan and set it aside.
- Now, use the same pan for melting butter and for sautéing the minced garlic until they get fragrant. Then add the rice along with soy sauce and keep cooking for 5-6 minutes to heat the rice thoroughly.
- Crack in the egg in the rice by making a hole in the middle of the rice and scramble till the egg gets set. Toss the rice and add green onions while stirring.
- Remove the rice from heat and set it aside on plates along with vegetables and chicken.
Arrange the plates with rice, chicken, vegetable, and, of course, mustard sauce on both sides of the plate. Then serve and enjoy with your dearest people!
Ingredient substitutions
Swap ingredients this way if you care:
Chicken: Use skinless and boneless thighs instead of chicken breasts.
Soy sauce: To prepare a gluten-free recipe, utilize tamari instead of soy sauce.
Vegetables: you can use any type of veggies you have or you care to use.
Garlic: You can get garlic paste to save time effectively.
Ginger: Alike garlic, the ginger paste is also available in any local grocery store’s refrigerated product section.
Sauce alternatives
Yum Yum Sauce: This sauce is made using tomato paste or ketchup along with mayonnaise. You can even prepare this traditional Japanese white sauce ahead and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Ginger Sauce: Another great alternative is the ginger sauce, which is very thin, comparatively spicy, and utilizes mustard sauce as a serving option in every Benihana restaurant.
Nutritional Information
| Serving (4-servings) | Nutritional Value | Daily Value |
| Calorie | 499 (2034 kJ) | – |
| Total Fat | 24 g | 77% |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g | 37% |
| Sodium | 2106 mg | 89% |
| Potassium | 855 mg | 56% |
| Calcium | 53mg | 34% |
| Cholesterol | 133 mg | 51.7% |
| Total Carbohydrate | 37 g | 11% |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g | 10.7% |
| Sugars | 8 g | 45% |
| Protein | 33 g | 73 % |
| Iron | 2 mg | – |
| Vitamin A | 3056IU | – |
| Vitamin C | 16mg | – |
FAQ
How to store the dish?
To store the dish for a short period, up to 4-5 days maximum, you can use an airtight container and refrigerate thereby. However, the fried rich might remain fresh for up to a week easily.
How to reheat the dish?
To reheat the chicken, I always recommend using a hot pan. This way all the ingredients remain moist and the crispiness of the vegetables gets back quickly. Make sure you have heated the chicken thoroughly.
But if you cannot manage a hot pan, you can easily reheat it using your microwave. But to do so, sprinkle a little water all over the chicken so that the chicken remains moist.
How to freeze the dish?
The fried rice: It’s pretty simple to freeze the fried rice. You will just need a freezer-safe plastic bag or airtight container to keep the rice stored in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To reheat, let the rice thaw inside the refrigerator for 12 hours or toss the rice directly on the pan.
The cooked chicken and vegetables: These two can also be stored for up to 3 months easily, but not more than that. To reheat, you will have to defrost the chicken and vegetables first in the refrigerator overnight.
Remember to add more hibachi sauce generously while reheating the chicken in the pan.
Sometimes it may feel a bit troublesome to manage time out and head to the local Benihana. But that doesn’t mean you would not get your favorite dish on the table, or your kids won’t get the delicious treat they expect.
Keep the ingredients at hand, and get the fascinating Benihana spicy hibachi chicken ready anytime and anywhere you want. And don’t forget to share your thoughts!
Try out some of my favorite chicken-based recipes:
Salt and Pepper Chicken
Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Tenders
Chicken Salad Chick Grape Salad Recipe
Best Buffalo Chicken Jerky Recipe