Hibachi Fried Rice (Japanese Style Fried Rice)

About Hibachi Fried Rice

Hibachi Fried Rice (Japanese Fried Rice) is a rice stir fry where cooked rice is sauteed in a wok or a large skillet with butter, soy sauce, and other ingredients. It is like classic fried rice, plus the savory flavor from lots of butter.

The Japanese word Hibachi means “fire bowl.” It is also called Teppanyaki-style cooking. Traditionally, this cooking style refers to an open-top ceramic bowl containing burning charcoal for heating purposes.

These days, electric barbecues are used instead of an open fire with a large griddle or wok on top. When we are preparing it at home, all you need is a large wok or a large flat-bottomed pan.

When made at home, this fried rice comes together in no time and at a fraction of the cost. It tastes just like the fried rice at a Hibachi restaurant and requires some essential ingredients primarily available in the pantry.

This is also a great recipe to use up your leftover rice. This dish turns out better when made with one-day-old cold rice. So, whenever I have leftover rice, I quickly whip up this Hibachi-style fried Rice.

Serve it for a quick weekday meal or pack it for school or office lunchboxes.

Ingredients

Rice – Use leftover cooked and cooled white rice to make this recipe. If you do not have leftover rice and want to make it with freshly cooked rice, cook it and cool it down to room temperature before using it.

You can use Jasmine rice, Calrose rice, Basmati rice, or any other white rice you choose.

Cooling the rice is essential; otherwise, the final dish will turn out mushy.

To speed up the cooling process, spread the cooked rice on a baking tray and cover it with cling wrap. Then refrigerate for 20 minutes or freeze for 10 minutes.

Vegetables – I have used onions, green peas, and carrots, but you can also add other veggies.

Some examples are cabbage, broccoli, snow peas, mushrooms, etc.

Garlic – You can increase the garlic in the recipe if you like the garlicky flavor.

Egg – Use any variety of eggs to make this recipe.

Butter – Hibachi fried rice recipe gets most of its flavor from the butter; therefore, a lot of butter is added. Butter gives it a nice savory flavor that makes it irresistible.

You can use salted butter or unsalted butter.

Soy Sauce adds an umami taste and a nice brown color.

Toasted Sesame Oil also adds a nice flavor, so try not to miss out. If you do not like sesame oil, you can replace it with canola oil, rice bran oil, or olive oil.

You can use low-sodium soy sauce in place of regular soy sauce. To make the recipe gluten-free, use Tamari. You can buy Tamari on Amazon.

Salt & Pepper – Add some white pepper powder to add some heat.

While white pepper powder can be bought on Amazon, if it is not readily available, replace it with black pepper powder.

How To Make Hibachi Style Fried Rice

Heat a large flat wok, Chinese wok, or large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.

Add 4 tablespoon butter (salted or unsalted) to the wok and stir until it melts.

Add ½ cup cubed onions (¼-inch cubes) and 2 teaspoon minced garlic and fry for 10-12 seconds.

Now add ¼ cup green peas and ¼ cup cubed carrots (½-inch cubes) and saute for 15-20 seconds.

Push the veggies to the sides of the wok.

Add 2 whisked eggs and scramble them.

Mix the scrambled eggs with the veggies.

Add the following ingredients and toss well.

• 4 cups of cooked and cooled white rice
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon white pepper powder
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Check for salt and add more if needed.

Garnish with chopped green onions, cilantro, and toasted sesame seeds, and serve hot with yum-yum sauce.

Serving Suggestions

Serve Japanese Fried Rice with Homemade Yum Yum Sauce for a weekday meal.

You can also serve this fried rice recipe with Japanese curries on the side. It also tastes excellent with Hibachi Noodles, Hibachi Chicken, Hibachi Salmon, and Hibachi Shrimp.