Hibachi at Home (Hibachi Chicken Recipe)

Now you can make hibachi at home complete with an onion volcano, shrimp toss and yum yum sauce! Literally the best hibachi express at affordable prices using fresh ingredients, making it at home is the natural choice as one of your go-to dinner ideas.

 

The only thing we were missing was a flaming fire bowl cocktail. Maybe that will be next…

I won’t lie, this dinner takes a little bit of work to get it all prepped and ready to go, but it is also loads of fun and something no one will ever forgot. The idea went viral and now I am being flooded with emails about how to make a hibachi dinner at home.

Hibachi at Home

What is hibachi? Most people just think of their favorite Japanese cuisine steakhouse or sushi restaurant, but hibachi is actually more of a charcoal grilling. Teppanyaki cooking is actually what you experience there.

Next, you’ll need to plan what you plan to include in your hibachi dinner at home. My advice is to just choose one or two items to make on the griddle since you have limited space. I made the sauces ahead of time and the rice on the stove. Some of these items can also be prepared in cast iron.

Tools You’ll Need to Make Hibachi

The biggest thing you will need is of course, the grill. No worries, you won’t need to remodel the kitchen. All you need is an electric pancake griddle or an outside grill flat top, like a Blackstone grill.

The smallest I recommend for a family of four is 24 inches. Feel free to make some of the other items, like the rice, on the stove and just serve them instead of doing all the prep on the griddle.

You’ll also need utensils. I used a hamburger flipper (stainless steel spatula) and large serving fork. You can also use a standard spatula. While they tend to cut pieces of meat and seafood right on the griddle, they are also working with stainless steel and not a coated, nonstick surface. I recommend pre cutting all your items before starting.

If you plan to do the volcano, you’ll need a squeeze bottle for the alcohol. This is the safest way to do it because you don’t want to be too close to the open flame. If you have picnic ketchup/mustard bottles lying around or small ones for crafts lying around, those work too.

Lastly, have a small fire extinguisher ready. You know, just in case. You are playing with fire here…

Sauce, Salad and Soup

If you ask most people what they associate with going to a hibachi grill it will probably be the onion volcano or train and of course, the yum yum sauce. Whatever you do, MAKE THE SAUCE!!!!!!

I use this Yum Yum Sauce Recipe and it never disappoints and it easy to make. My homemade teriyaki sauce is also pretty magical and easy to put together.

If you want to make a salad, simply cut iceberg lettuce coarsely and add a few grape tomatoes and carrots. Miso Ginger Dressing is what they serve at mine local joint.

Miso soup is also a favorite and super simple. It is sold in small powdered packets and all you need it hot water. If you want something a little more substantial, give my Egg Drop Soup a whirl. You can make the broth ahead of time and then add egg, mushrooms and scallions right before serving.

Throwing Shrimp

Some also throw shrimp into your mouth as an appetizer. Plan for 2 shrimp per guest. Simply cook with 1/2 tablespoon of butter for 2-3 minutes on each side or until pink and curled.

Cut shrimp in half using the edge of your spatula, then using the back, flatten them. Flat shrimp tends to toss better than round. Physics, I suppose. Throw food at your family and have fun!

Hibachi Rice

Hibachi rice is no more than fried rice made on the griddle instead of in a wok or skillet. Use my recipe for fried rice and then customize the veggies (if you want any).

There really isn’t a need to add protein since it isn’t the main dish, but you can always add ham (or SPAM) or shredded pork like they do in the restaurant.

White sticky rice is also totally acceptable. You can even use an ice cream scoop to place it into little bowls.

Lo mein and cauliflower fried rice are other good options. Use sauces like eel sauce, spicy sauce, ginger sauce or brown stir fry sauce to jazz them up.

The Proteins

Hibachi Chicken

If you plan to make hibachi chicken, you’ll need some sort of fat. The resturants use a seasoned butter (that giant pale yellow pound on a plate).

I used unsalted butter. You can use salted, but be careful with further seasoning so things don’t get too salty. Of course, soy sauce is also a little salty. Boneless skin chicken breasts or boneless thighs fillets cut into 1-inch pieces are all you need. There is no need to marinate ahead of time. Make sure to check the internal temp of the chicken, as breasts and thighs have different degrees of doneness.

Hibachi Steak

For hibachi steak, you’ll also need a fat, such as butter. Again, unsalted is the best bet, but salted work fine too.

No need to season or marinate the beef either. The restaurant usually gives you a choice of these cuts, you can use the same ones at home.

• Beef tenderloin (chateaubriand)
• New York Strip
• Skirt Steak

Most are cut into bite-sized pieces and I recommend doing this before adding to the griddle so you don’t ruin the coating.

Hibachi Seafood

There is typically a lengthy list of seafood options.

• Shrimp -Use large peeled and deveined shrimp, account for about 1/2 pound per person.
• Scallops- Clean scallops and dry with a paper towel to dry. Make sure the side muscle is removed. If using large scallops, cut in half. Smaller, bay scallops, don’t need to be cut.
• Lobster– Remove meat from lobster tail and cut into 1 inch pieces.

Vegetables

Every restaurant has their own mix of hibachi vegetables, but they usually consist of a julienne cut mix.

Don’t mix all your veggies together at once because some take more time to cook than others. Broccoli carrots go on first, then add zucchini and eggplant, followed by onion and mushrooms.

How to Make an Onion Volcano

Disclaimer: Try this trick at your own risk and have a fire extinguisher close by.

Gather your tools ahead of time. Here is what you’ll need:

• Onion
• Long reach lighter or butane torch
• Small squeeze bottle of 8- proof vodka or other 80+ proof alcohol
• Small squeeze bottle of vegetable oil

1. Cut onion into thick slices (about 1/2 inch). Using the largest piece, build a tower from the largest up to the smallest, leaving the last one off so you have a large enough hole to squirt the liquids.
2. Do this trick at the very beginning or the very end because you’ll need to crank the heat on your griddle up as high as it goes.
3. Stack the slices before you put them on the griddle (to avoid getting burned or messing it up). Transfer them using a flat spatula.

You’ll need to work quicky to make the rest of it work correctly.

3. Squirt oil into the center of your onion for 2 seconds.
4. Squirt the alcohol into the center for 3-4 seconds. Be careful not to drip it any place else or it can also light fire (sometimes the chef will make a smiley face doing just this).
5. Hold your long lighter or butane torch close to the top of the volcano and then light it or after the flame is lit, wave it over the top. This needs to happen briskly after you put the alcohol in so it doesn’t simply seep out the bottom. Some even do the fire at the same time as squirting the alcohol. Stand as far back as you can to avoid getting burned. It should flame up and then die down to just smoke in a few minutes.

Sushi

While this is plenty (almost too much) for me, my husband would disagree and also wants sushi. Not just any sushi, he craves the delicious rolls with cream cheese and spicy tuna topped with crunchy tempura flake and spicy mayo. Delicious!

Sometimes I make these elements into a bowl, sometimes I grab fresh sushi at the Sushi Restaurant to save myself a little bit of time and other times I tell him we’ll have a sushi another night.

Or you can do something else like one of these other delicious options.