If you ever crave the hibachi fried rice you can order at Benihana’s or other restaurants, you are not alone. It is more than the showmanship of the food being prepared right in front of you, the rice tastes really good. Now you can enjoy making this Hibachi chicken fried rice at home that tastes just as good. And best of all, it is a great way to use up the odds and ends of various vegetables in your refrigerator.
Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cooking that is prepared on a large heated griddle. (The iron grill is called teppan in Japanese.) This tableside form of Japenese cuisine is popular because the guest gets to watch their food prepared right in front of them.
Tips for Great Hibachi Chicken Fried Rice
And when you are talking about fried rice, it starts with the rice. What you want is cool, dry rice, like rice that was cooked the day before if possible. (When I make this rice I double the rice needed for a dish earlier in the week.) Just made rice is too sticky and moist to make good fried rice. If you don’t have pre-cooked rice, you can cheat by spreading freshly made rice out on a baking sheet and putting the pan in front of a fan (or in the freezer) for about an hour. You are trying to remove the moisture from the surface of each grain of rice to give the texture needed in fried rice.
As fried rice is a stir fry, it is important to have all the ingredients prepped and chopped before you begin cooking. What to include in fried rice is limitless. If you prefer ham instead of chicken, swap it out. Want to make it vegetarian, leave out the meat entirely. This recipe is my basic variation.
The secret to the great flavor of hibachi fried rice is butter. It melds all the flavors together and gives the rice a great mouth-feel. If you want to recreate the taste you get at the restaurant, don’t skip this ingredient.
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Hibachi Chicken Fried Rice
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: stir fry
- Cuisine: Asian
Description
The best hibachi fried rice with loads of vegetables, garlic and ginger. And the secret ingredient to make it like the restaurants do that prepare it table side.
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked rice, see notes
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
- 1–1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 4 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2” pieces
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced (about 1/3 cup)
- 2 ounces mushrooms, cut into small pieces
- 2 ounces snow peas, cut into 1/2” pieces
- 3 green onions, finely sliced (both white and green parts)
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1–1/2 teaspoons salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cook rice ahead and set aside. Chop and prepare vegetables and set aside.
- In a wok, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and stir fry the chicken breast over high heat until cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken from wok and set aside.
- Add the beaten egg to the wok and cook until scrambled. Break the egg into bite size pieces and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil to the wok and stir in the onion, carrot and celery pieces and stir fry for 3 minutes until vegetables soften. Add the garlic and ginger and stir fry for 1 minute more.
- Add cold rice to the wok and using the edge of the spoon, break rice into bite size pieces. Stirring to incorporate the rice and vegetables.
- Add the butter and stir to melt and coat the ice. Stir in the mushrooms, snow peas and green onions and continue stir-frying for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked chicken and eggs and continue stirring until all the ingredients are combined.
- Season with soy sauce, black pepper, toasted sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of salt and stir to combine. Taste the rice and add more salt if needed. You may wish to add another drizzle of soy sauce if the rice seems dry.
- Garnish with toasted sesame seed and serve warm.
Notes
To cook white rice, in a saucepan add 1-1/2 cups white rice to 3 cups water. If cooking on the stovetop, bring the water to a boil, cover saucepan and reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat and fluff rice with fork. Prepare ahead and refrigerate for a day.
Prepare the rice that day before and store in the refrigerator, or spread freshly made rice in a thin layer on a baking sheet and place the pan in front of a fan (or in the freezer) for 60 minutes so the rice can dry out and cool.
Add whatever vegetables you would like to this basic recipe. Just cut them into small pieces, and stir-fry them after you cook the garlic and ginger and before you add the chicken and egg. Softer vegetables can be added with the mushrooms, snow peas and green onions while harder vegetables should be added before the rice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 ounces
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