Benihana Hibachi Chicken is a delicious Japanese-inspired dish served with fried rice and sautéed vegetables and garnished with a bowl of its signature YUM YUM sauce on the side. With a few simple ingredients, you can easily make this copycat restaurant recipe at home–it has all the flavors of Benihana’s famous meal and tastes just like you ordered it right off the menu!
Best Copycat Benihana Hibachi Chicken
Inspired by Benihana’s classic menu item, this easy-to-make Benihana Hibachi Chicken meal creates an Americanized copycat version of hibachi cooking from the comfort of your own home.
This simple recipe uses basic ingredients that you can quickly cook in your cast iron skillet, wok, or fry pan without worrying that you don’t own teppanyaki or flat top grill; high heat searing produces the same grilled flavor you’d find at a traditional Japanese restaurant and simulates the same hibachi style, but without special equipment.
I love to copy restaurant recipes and recreate my own versions at home (plus it’s a lot less expensive). Check out some of my favorites: Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish Grill, Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce, KFC Coleslaw, and Pumpkin Scones from Starbucks.
Why we love this Chicken Hibachi Recipe
- Quick and easy to make with simple ingredients.
- Takes 30 minutes to prepare this meal and tastes like you just ordered it from the menu.
- Same flavors you’d expect from Benihana but even better because it’s homemade.
- No special equipment needed to serve a classic Japanese style hibachi dinner from the comfort of your kitchen.
- Juicy chicken, vegetables, and fried rice paired with the zesty zing of Benihana’s signature sauce.
- Perfect for meal prep– double the recipe and set aside the leftovers for lunch or dinner during the week.
Chicken Hibachi marinade ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Mushrooms: You can use Baby Bella or Button mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Yellow onion
- Carrots
- Egg
- Green onions
- Bottled Sweet & Spicy Yum Yum sauce: I used Bibibop Asian Grill brand but feel free to use your favorite or you can easily make your own.
Hibachi Chicken Marinade ingredients
- Peanut oil
- Low-sodium soy sauce: For a gluten-free version, you can use tamari.
- Hoisin sauce
- Granulated sugar
- Fresh garlic: Feel free to us garlic paste to save some time. You can find this in the refrigerated section of the produce aisle.
- Fresh ginger: Feel free to use ginger paste to save some time. You can find this in the refrigerated section of the produce aisle.
- Rice wine vinegar
- Toasted sesame oil
Hibachi Chicken substitutions and additions
- Vary Your Veggies: You can use any of your favorite vegetables in this recipe. Some good alternatives are broccoli florets, yellow squash, red bell pepper, or snow peas.
- Change The Chicken: An alternative to skinless boneless chicken breast is skinless-boneless chicken thighs if your family prefers dark meat over white meat.
- Range Of Rice: I like to serve Jasmine rice with my hibachi chicken, but any long grain rice works well. Brown rice would be a great alternative. There are also a lot of good quality, frozen bagged, pre-made fried rice blends that can be made according to package directions.
Chicken Hibachi Recipe recommended tools
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring Tools
- Large, heavy-duty skillets
- Slotted spoon or fish spatula
- Large plate
- ¾ cup dry measuring cup
- Small bowl for dipping sauce
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How to make benihana Hibachi Chicken
Enjoying Benihana Hibachi Chicken doesn’t require a trip to the restaurant! It is so quick and easy to recreate this classic menu meal, with the same Japanese flavors and sauces, but this copycat version is made at home, all from the comfort of your kitchen.
- Combine the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, grated garlic, grated ginger, sesame oil, granulated sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl.
- Add the cubed chicken to a large bowl, pour the sauce over it, and stir to coat all of the pieces.
- Heat the peanut oil in your heavy-duty skillet on high heat and add the chicken and sauce in a single layer.
Pro Tip: Do not move the chicken pieces for at least 2-3 minutes to allow the chicken to start to caramelize. Then you can continue to cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, for another 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. - Transfer the cooked chicken to a large plate and set aside.
Pro Tip: It is easiest to use a slotted spoon or fish spatula to transfer the chicken pieces.
Pro Tip: If you have more than 1-2 tablespoons of liquid remaining in your skillet after you remove the cooked chicken, you should remove the excess liquid before adding the vegetables to saute. - Heat peanut oil on medium-high heat in the same skillet used to cook the chicken, add the carrots and onions and cook for 2-3 minutes before adding the mushrooms and zucchini to the skillet.
- Saute the vegetables for an additional 3-5 minutes or until they are cooked to a crisp-tender texture.
Pro Tip: Make sure to stir the vegetables occasionally to prevent burning. - Transfer the cooked vegetables to a large plate and set them aside.
- Heat peanut oil in a separate large skillet on medium-high heat, add the scrambled egg, and cook for 20-30 seconds.
- Add the garlic and green onions to the egg and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the pre-cooked jasmine rice into the skillet with the egg and stir to combine.
- Spread the rice mixture into an even layer and let it fry in the pan, undisturbed, for 3 minutes.
Pro Tip: This allows the rice to start to get a nice crisp to it. Give the rice a good stir from that point every 2-3 minutes for a total of 10 minutes. - Add the soy sauce to the rice, stir to evenly coat, and allow the rice to fry for an additional 4-5 minutes or until the rice is nice and fried.
Pro Tip: You can garnish your fried rice with a sprinkle of fresh green onions if desired. - Portion out the fried rice, vegetables, and chicken between 4 dinner plates, keeping the rice, veggies, and chicken separated on each plate.
- Garnish with a small bowl of the Yum Yum sauce.
- Enjoy!
Benihana Hibachi tips
- For the best results of browning meats and vegetables, a seasoned or enamel-coated cast iron skillet is my go-to choice.
- You can use non-stick skillets, however, you need to make sure they are of good quality that can handle very high heat.
- Make sure that you let the chill come off of your chicken before cooking it. If your chicken is too cold, it can drop the temperature of your skillet, especially if it is not heavy duty enough, and it may impact your ability to get a nice brown to your meat when cooking.
How to serve this Chicken Hibachi Recipe
Serve with rice and vegetables (as per the recipe). These are actually part of the recipe.
How to store Chicken Hibachi
- To Store: You can store leftovers in a sealed container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. You can keep the different components stored in separate containers for easier reheating.
- To Reheat: Hibachi chicken is best reheated in a hot pan on the stove so everything stays moist and the vegetables crisp back up. You will want to make sure the chicken is heated all the way through. If you want to use your microwave, sprinkle some water on the chicken pieces to dry out.
Hibachi Chicken Recipe FAQs
In North America, “hibachi” is a generic term for any kind of Japanese grilling. Hibachi or hibachi-style cooking has an open-grate design, similar to a charcoal barbecue, but it’s made using cast iron. Modern hibachi grills are similar to large iron griddles.
Both hibachi chicken and teriyaki chicken have the same cooking method: the meat is cut into bite-sized pieces and cooked over high heat in a sauce.
The main difference between the two is the type of sauce that is used. Hibachi chicken is cooked in soy sauce, while teriyaki chicken is cooked with a sweet glaze made from soy sauce and other ingredients. Teriyaki chicken is also typically marinated before cooking, while hibachi chicken is not.
Fried rice freezes very well. You can store fried rice in an airtight container or freezer-safe plastic bags for up to 6 months and let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight or toss it frozen right into the pan to reheat it.
The cooked chicken and vegetables can also be frozen, but they should be used within 3 months. Defrost the chicken and veggies in the refrigerator overnight and then add more sauce to the pan when reheating.
I used a 12 inch (bottom surface area of the skillet), enamel-coated, cast iron skillet for this recipe. It retains heat very well and is large enough to handle this amount of chicken and vegetables.
If your skillet is not this big or heavy-duty enough, then you will want to cook your chicken and vegetables in two batches to ensure that you are not overcrowding your pan.
If you overcrowd your pan, then you run the risk of too much moisture being trapped while cooking your chicken and vegetables and making them mushy and not brown and crisp. Y
ou can also use non-stick skillets, but you need to make sure they are of good quality that can handle very high heat. Non-stick skillets are best used for cooking eggs, fish, or other more delicate items.
The fried rice portion of this recipe works best if the jasmine rice is cooked and cooled ahead of time. You can make the jasmine rice the day before and store it in a sealed container, in the refrigerator, until ready to use in the recipe. Feel free to use any long grain rice you prefer.
Fresh ginger can be hard to find in some areas during certain times of the year, therefore a great alternative is the pre-grated, fresh ginger that comes in a tube. This can be found in your local grocery store where pre-packaged herbs are found.
Other Easy Chicken Recipes
- Slow Cooker Butter Chicken
- Honey Garlic Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Easy Sesame Chicken
- Easy Mozzarella Chicken
- S’moked Chicken Thighs
- Diet Coke Chicken
Benihana Chicken Hibachi Marinade Recipe
Ingredients
Hibachi chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cubed into 1-2” bite-size pieces
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh garlic grated
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Sauteed Vegetables:
- 1 tbsp peanut oil
- 2 cups mushrooms quartered (Baby Bella or Button mushrooms)
- 2 cups zucchini sliced into half circles
- 1½ cups yellow onion sliced
- 1 cup fresh carrots sliced into half circles
Fried Rice:
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice (cooked and cooled according to package directions)
- ¼ cup peanut oil
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fresh garlic grated
- 1 egg scrambled
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons green onions chopped and divided (You will garnish with the additional 2 tablespoons)
Garnish:
- Bottled Sweet & Spicy Yum Yum sauce (I used Bibibop Asian Grill Brand)
Instructions
- **While your chicken and vegetables are cooking in one skillet, you will cook your fried rice in a second large skillet so that all your meal components are finished and hot at the same time. You will have 2 skillets going at the same time for this recipe, so you will need to read the complete directions before starting to prepare this dish.**
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the ingredients for the sauce of the hibachi chicken. Combine the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, grated garlic, grated ginger, sesame oil, granulated sugar, and rice wine vinegar.
- Place the cubed skinless-boneless chicken breast into a large mixing bowl and pour the sauce over the chicken pieces and stir together to coat all the chicken pieces.
- To cook the chicken, you will use a very large, heavy-duty skillet on high heat, and add the 2 tablespoons peanut oil. Once the oil gets hot, add the chicken and sauce in a single layer. *Do not move the chicken pieces for at least 2-3 minutes to allow the chicken to start to caramelize* Continue to cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, for another 3-4 minutes or until cooked through.
- Transfer the cooked chicken, using a slotted spoon or fish spatula, to a large plate and set aside while you move forward with making the rest of the recipe.
- **If you have more than 1-2 tablespoons of liquid remaining in your skillet after you remove the cooked chicken, you will want to remove the excess liquid before adding the vegetables to saute**
- Turn the heat down to medium-high and add the 1 tablespoon peanut oil to the hot skillet that the chicken was just cooked in and removed from, then add the carrots and onions and cook for 2-3 minutes before adding the mushrooms and zucchini to the skillet. Continue to saute for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked to a crisp-tender texture. Make sure to stir the vegetables occasionally to prevent burning.
- Transfer the cooked vegetables to a large plate and set them aside.
- To cook the fried rice, add the ¼ cup peanut oil into a separate large skillet on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the scrambled egg to the hot skillet and cook the egg for 20-30 seconds before adding the grated garlic and green onions. Cook for another 30 seconds before adding the pre-cooked jasmine rice. Stir to combine the rice with the other ingredients, then spread the rice mixture into an even layer and allow the rice to fry in the pan, undisturbed, for 3 minutes. *This allows the rice to start to get a nice crisp to it*. Give the rice a good stir from that point every 2-3 minutes for a total of 10 minutes.
- Add the ¼ soy sauce to the crisp rice, stir to evenly coat all the rice with the soy sauce. Allow the rice to fry for an additional 4-5 minutes or until the rice is nice and fried. *You will garnish your fried rice with a sprinkle of the additional 2 tablespoons fresh green onions if desired*
- Using a ¾ cup dry measuring cup, portion out the fried rice between 4 dinner plates. Add ¾ cup mixed vegetables and ¾-1 cup portion of cooked chicken to each plate, keeping the fried rice, mixed vegetables, and chicken separated on each dinner plate. Garnish each serving with a small bowl of the YumYum sauce to dip the chicken.
Jenn’s Notes
- To Store: You can store leftovers in a sealed container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. You can keep the different components stored in separate containers for easier reheating.
- To Reheat: Hibachi chicken is best reheated in a hot pan on the stove so everything stays moist and the vegetables crisp back up. You will want to make sure the chicken is heated all the way through. If you want to use your microwave, sprinkle some water on the chicken pieces to dry out.
- For the best results of browning meats and vegetables, a seasoned or enamel-coated cast iron skillet is my go-to choice.
- You can use non-stick skillets, however, you need to make sure they are of good quality that can handle very high heat.
- Make sure that you let the chill come off of your chicken before cooking it. If your chicken is too cold, it can drop the temperature of your skillet, especially if it is not heavy duty enough, and it may impact your ability to get a nice brown to your meat when cooking.
Excellent blog! Your recipe is fantastic. It’s certainly on my list of favorite foods.