Chicken,  Main Dishes,  Recipes

Hibachi Chicken & Vegetables With Fried Rice

May 30, 2019 / 28 Comments

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I don’t know about you, but Hibachi is one of my all time favorite meals. Nothing beats going out for Japanese food, but lets face it, I live in a small town. The closest Japanese take-out place to us that we actually like is 25 minutes away in the next town over. We can’t always go grab it when we want, so I’ve gotten to where I make it at home when we get a craving for it….which is often. It’s not the exact same, but it’s the closest thing to it and it’s so good!

Plus, when you’re in a small town you have limited options for eating out. Eating at the same places over and over can get old and eating out all of the time can get so expensive. The Japanese place we like to get take-out from costs us $20 for the two of us. That’s just for the food with no drinks included.

I always have most of the ingredients needed for the hibachi in my kitchen because I use them when cooking other things too. Which means when we want some, I usually only have to buy the chicken, zucchini, and onion. So for around half the price, I can make something very similar at home, and we can eat off of it twice. We always have enough for us both to eat leftovers for lunch the next day. That’s a win in my book. I’m all about saving money (and eating good leftovers).

All you need is: rice, chicken, onion, zucchini, butter, vegetable oil, sesame seed oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, eggs, salt, and pepper.

Tip: Prep everything ahead of time so that it’s easier and quicker to make when it’s time to cook everything. I love using this set of mixing bowls or this one when prepping sauces and dips, or storing things like meat and vegetables I’ve cut up. They all come with lids and are different sizes.

It’s up to you if you want to do this as far as cutting up the chicken and vegetables ahead of time, but you definitely want to make the rice the night before or at least in enough time that it has time to get cold to the touch. I use my instant pot to make rice and it works great! If you don’t have an instant pot, you definitely need one. I have two and love them! I have a 6 quart and an 8 quart. I plan on getting the 3 quart next. It’s on my list! If you are in need of one, all 3 sizes are on sale on Amazon right now. Awesome deals!

If you try making the rice right before you need it, your fried rice will not turn out right. It will be mushy and not at all like fried rice. I’ve found that using long grain white rice and making it one day prior (or several hours before) is the best way to go to get the best fried rice possible.

I make everything using only ONE pan. Can I get an Amen for less dishes to clean?! Make sure you use a large enough pan or wok to hold everything.

I’ve found that it’s best to cook the chicken first, the vegetables second, and the rice last. You don’t have to use only one pan. You can simultaneously cook the chicken and vegetables while you cook the rice in another pan if you want. I personally find it easier to focus on one thing at a time when making this and using one pan won’t add much more time to your cook time.

Let’s start with the chicken.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Heat the vegetable oil and sesame oil in your skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Add the chicken, soy sauce, butter, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Sauté for 6-8 minutes, or until no longer pink. It’s important that you don’t overcook the chicken or it will become dry. The cook time is going to depend on the size that you cut your chicken. Mine is usually fully cooked by the 6 minute mark. I just take a slotted spoon and quickly move the chicken to a covered serving dish to keep it warm while I finish cooking. Drain off the excess liquid, wipe the pan and continue to the vegetables.

Cut onion into slices and your zucchini into small strips. Heat vegetable oil and sesame seed oil in your skillet or wok on medium-high heat. Add onion, zucchini, butter, soy sauce, salt, and pepper.

Sauté vegetables for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Be sure to watch these closely so you don’t overcook them. You don’t want them to get too soft or mushy. Just like the chicken, the cook time will depend on how thick your vegetables are. Mine are usually done right at the 6 minute mark. They turn out perfectly: soft and tender with a tiny bit of crunch. Transfer your vegetables to a covered dish to keep warm. Wipe out the pan and move on to the rice.

Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat in your skillet or wok. Add chopped onion and sauté for about 3-4 minutes.

Add eggs and lightly scramble to the side.

Once scrambled (don’t overcook or they will dry out), add rice and butter. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring constantly.

Add soy sauce and cook an additional minute.

Now it’s ready to serve!

Get the printable recipe to this Japanese White Sauce here.

This rice is so good!

The chicken and vegetables taste great, too. I love zucchini and onions together, especially with this white sauce. I always use chicken in this recipe, but I’m sure you can substitute/add steak or shrimp. I think I’m going to try it with steak next time.

If you give this recipe a try, I would love to read your feedback in the comments. You can rate this recipe in your comment if you’d like. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this Hibachi meal as much as we do!

Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Hibachi Chicken & Vegetables with Fried Rice

A delicious version of Japanese Hibachi food that you can make right at home. Fried rice with a side of Hibachi chicken, zucchini and onions, served with a side of Japanese white sauce.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: easyrecipe, friedrice, hibachichicken, hibachivegetables, hibachiwhitesauce, homemadehibachi, japanesefood, japaneserecipe, maincourse
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • FOR THE CHICKEN
  • 1-1 1/2 lb chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp sesame seed oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • salt & pepper
  • FOR THE VEGETABLES
  • 1 large white onion sliced
  • 1 large zucchini cut into strips
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp sesame seed oil
  • 1 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • salt & pepper
  • FOR THE FRIED RICE
  • 4 cups cooked white rice (long grain white rice) cool to the touch
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup white onion chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

Instructions

  • FOR THE CHICKEN
  • Heat vegetable oil and sesame seed oil in large skillet or wok on medium-high heat.
  • Add chicken, soy sauce, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper (to your liking) to the skillet.
  • Sauté chicken for 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink.
  • Move chicken to a covered dish to keep warm and drain excess liquid from the pan. Now move on to the vegetables in the same pan.
  • FOR THE VEGETABLES
  • Heat vegetable oil and sesame seed oil on medium-high heat.
  • Add onion, zucchini, butter, soy sauce, salt and pepper (to your liking) to the skillet.
  • Sauté vegetables for 6-8 minutes or until tender.
  • Move vegetables to a covered dish to keep warm and drain any excess liquid from the pan. Now move on to the fried rice in the same pan.
  • FOR THE FRIED RICE
  • Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat.
  • Add the chopped onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
  • Add eggs and lightly scramble to the side.
  • Once scrambled, add rice and butter. Cook for 5 minutes while constantly stirring rice.
  • Add soy sauce and cook for an additional minute.

Notes

Chicken: 
  • You can prep your chicken by cutting it up the night before and storing it in a container in the fridge until you need it. 
  • Do not overcook or your chicken will become dry. I pulled my chicken up right at the 6 minute mark.
  • You can cut into a piece before you pull it up to make sure it's cooked all the way through.
Vegetables:
  • You can prep your vegetables by slicing/cutting them the night before and storing them in a container in the fridge until you need them. This will save you some time when it's time to cook.
  • Do not overcook your zucchini and onions or they will become too soft and mushy.
  • I pulled my vegetables up right at the 6 minute mark. They were very tender but still had the slightest little crunch, which is perfect in my opinion. 
Rice: 
  • I've found that using long grain white rice is the best way to go. That's the kind of rice I always cook with anyway.
  • Your rice needs to be cool to the touch or it won't turn out right. It'll be way too soft and mushy.
  • It's best to make it the day before so that it can sit in the fridge overnight, or you can make it earlier on the same day that you plan on cooking it. As long as it has time to cool down and sit in the fridge for a little while, it will be good.
White Sauce: You can get the full printable recipe for the Japanese White Sauce here.
Recipe adapted from Genius Kitchen. 

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