Perfect Hibachi Chicken {Benihana Copycat} - The Girl on Bloor (2024)

FAQs

What seasoning do they use for hibachi? ›

We asked our local hibachi chef and here is what is actually on the cart. The shakers are salt, pepper, sesame seeds, and garlic powder or garlic salt. The squirt bottles are sesame oil, soy sauce, and Japanese barbecue sauce (like Mr. Yoshido brand or the brand name “Japanese Barbecue Sauce”).

Hibachi restaurant offers a variety of dipping sauces to match meat and vegetables. The most common sauces include ginger, sesame, miso, fruit and white sauce. Ginger juice, usually watery and brown, contains ginger, garlic, soy sauce, white vinegar or sake, sugar, and sometimes onion, oil or lemon juice.

The word “hibachi” comes from Japanese meaning "fire bowl." Hibachi grills are a popular choice for restaurants because they can cook larger items than with charcoal. They also have an open-grate design which makes cooking easier, even if you're not very skilled at it!

What sauce do hibachi chefs use on rice? If you've been to a hibachi restaurant, you've no doubt seen the unlabeled plastic squirt bottles they use to season all the food. These bottles contain a variety of oils and a soy sauce or soy sauce blend that gives hibachi food its distinct flavor.

The top-secret cooking oil used by hibachi chefs is a combination of 4 basic ingredients; sesame oil, olive oil, mirin, and soy sauce.

The traditional Japanese Hibachi Brown Sauce, also known as “Yum Yum Sauce” or “Hibachi Sauce,” is usually vegan-friendly. The primary ingredients in this sauce are soy sauce, mirin (a sweet rice wine), dashi stock (made from dried bonito fish flakes or kelp), garlic, ginger, and sometimes a touch of sugar.

Yum Yum Sauce is made of mayonnaise, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, sugar, paprika and water to thin the sauce out. That's it! It's really just a matter of the right ratios of ingredients to get the flavor you want!

It is commonly used interchangeably with the term hibachi, but they are two different styles of cooking. While both styles showcase live cooking, Teppanyaki focuses on individual or small group dining, whereas hibachi is often a communal and interactive dining experience.

Choose lean protein, such as chicken or fish instead of beef, or stick to all vegetables. Tell your hibachi chef that you like limited oil in your portion. Put your own sauces in the light rain, especially soy sauce and sweet sauce. If your restaurant offers low-sodium soy, please ask for it when ordering.

What is a hibachi chef called? ›

A teppanyaki chef is more than a cook who's mastered the teppanyaki style of cuisine. Being a successful teppanyaki chef requires equal parts performance and culinary mastership.

If you're using chopsticks, remember the basic etiquettes: don't point with them, don't pass food directly from your chopsticks to someone else's, and don't stick them upright in your bowl of rice. These practices are considered impolite or can have undesirable connotations in Japanese culture.

Hibachi rice is typically made with Calrose rice whereas Chinese fried rice is made with long grain rice. But the main difference between fried rice and hibachi rice is that hibachi fried rice is made on a griddle or a hot plate.

The three main dry spices found in Japanese hibachi cuisine are garlic, ginger and sesame. Garlic has the strongest flavor when used in whole cloves, although mashed garlic and crushed garlic are also very pungent.

What seasoning do hibachi chefs use? The main component you'll find hibachi chefs using to flavor the meat and veggies is garlic. Soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and ginger can also be used, depending on what they're cooking.

In hibachi, a theatrical take on Japanese teppanyaki cooking, sake is used both to flavor the food and set it on fire during routines such as "the volcano."