This Benihana copycat hibachi chicken is an easy and flavorful chicken dinner you can whip up in just 15 minutes flat. This chicken entree is made with tender pieces of chicken breast, sliced mushrooms, a touch of butter, and lemon juice. It's a Japanese steakhouse copycat recipe that tastes like it came right off the hibachi grill.
Serve with hibachi Zucchini or vegetables and Instant Pot Jasmine or long-grain white rice!
That wonderful chicken entree featuring the same tender bite-sized pieces of chicken and mushrooms that you love at your favorite hibachi restaurant is incredibly easy to make at home.
It's super quick and easy, so there's no reason not to try it!
Not only is hibachi chicken ridiculously yummy and highly addictive, but it truly is a chicken dinner that can be on the table in 15 minutes.
You'll only be waiting on the rice for this dinner, so start it ahead of time while you prep your chicken and any desired veggie sides...or make my hibachi noodles at the same time!
Want more great Hibachi Recipes?! Check out all of my incredibly flavorful grilled foods here!
🥘 Ingredients For Hibachi Chicken
It only takes a few ingredients to assemble a wonderfully tasty hibachi chicken dinner! You might have many of them in your kitchen already!
- Cooking Oil - We want to cook on pretty high heat, so using 1 teaspoon of cooking oil to withstand that heat is essential. Choose an oil with a high smoke point, or use the Benihana-recommended safflower oil.
- Chicken - 7 ounces of boneless, skinless chicken breast meat cubed into bite-size pieces.
- Mushrooms - At least 2 white button mushrooms sliced into 8 pieces each ( I also like the 'baby Bella or cremini mushrooms in this ).
- Butter - Add 1 tablespoon of rich and creamy butter at the end to finish your hibachi chicken entree perfectly.
- Lemon Juice - ½ a tablespoon of lemon juice that is used to finish cooking chicken right before serving. Don't be shy. An extra lemon wedge served with your chicken dinner is ideal!
- Sesame Seeds - ½ a tablespoon of sesame seeds are the last touch to complete this chicken recipe. Just a little bit goes a long way, but it adds delightful texture and flavor!
- Salt & Pepper (optional) - Season to taste if desired.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Authentic Benihana Hibachi Chicken
This is a super simple 1-pan recipe that anyone can make.
You will need a sharp knife, a skillet (or frying pan or flat-top griddle), and a wooden spoon or spatula for stirring.
This hibachi chicken recipe is indeed the actual, authentic recipe that Benihana shared on their website in the early 2000s! It was shared as an individual serving, so be sure to use the recipe card slider to adjust your servings as needed.
Hibachi Chicken & Mushrooms
- Prep. Start with preheating your non-stick skillet, frying pan, or flat-top griddle to medium-high heat ( or 400ºF /204ºC if using an electric skillet ). Add 1 teaspoon of cooking oil, then 7 ounces of cut chicken and a few sliced mushrooms.
- Cook the chicken & mushrooms. Cook the chicken and mushrooms for 6-8 minutes, or until the chicken pieces no longer show any raw or slightly pink coloring. Stir the chicken and mushrooms occasionally during cooking to cook the chicken evenly. ***The mushrooms can be added later. Add them in the last few minutes of the cooking time if you prefer your mushrooms to be less cooked.
- Add butter and lemon. When the chicken is thoroughly cooked through, add 1 tablespoon of butter, ½ a tablespoon of squeezed lemon juice, and ½ a tablespoon of sesame seeds. Stir to combine all of the ingredients and melt the butter. *The sesame seeds can be toasted prior to starting the chicken and mushrooms if desired. They can also be reserved for garnish when serving.
- Season and serve. Season with salt and pepper to taste if desired. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Optimal Oil Choices: While Benihana prefers safflower oil for its hibachi dishes, any high smoke point oil like canola, avocado, sunflower, or peanut oil is suitable for achieving that authentic hibachi sear.
- Mushroom Portions: The recipe suggests two sliced mushrooms per serving, but feel free to adjust the quantity to suit your taste preferences.
- Meal Prep Friendly: This hibachi chicken recipe is excellent for meal prep. Increase the recipe quantities using the scale function on the recipe card and portion the meals for convenient lunches or dinners throughout the week.
- Storing and Reheating: Keep any leftover hibachi chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, though it's best enjoyed within the first 1-2 days. For reheating, a non-stick skillet or frying pan is recommended to revive the chicken's "just cooked" taste and texture, eliminating any accumulated moisture from refrigeration.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Refrigerated, cooked chicken can be stored for 3 - 4 days but is best used within 1 - 2 days.
Reheating
Since cooked foods tend to finish cooling in the refrigerator, they accumulate moisture in their container. To get rid of this unwanted moisture and return my hibachi chicken to near 'just cooked' taste and flavor, I reheat my hibachi chicken in a non-stick skillet, frying pan, or flat-top griddle.
Just like the cooking instructions, bring your non-stick skillet to medium-high heat with a small amount of oil. Add the cooked hibachi chicken and cook until warmed through, usually about 2 - 3 minutes. Stir occasionally to warm your hibachi chicken evenly.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Though the method of cooking hibachi and teriyaki chicken is the same, the sauce used to prepare each dish differs. Teriyaki sauce is generally sweeter and more sticky than hibachi sauce (there are a few different varieties of hibachi sauce, but none typically include sugar).
Yes, once cooled, you can place your hibachi chicken and mushrooms into a heavy-duty freezer bag and squeeze out the air. It will keep well frozen for up to 3 months!
You may be thinking that because you don't have a giant flat-top griddle like a Japanese steakhouse, you can't make hibachi chicken, but that is not the case! You can achieve the same incredible flavor with a good heavy-bottomed skillet, frying pan, or Blackstone grill.
🍗 More Tasty Chicken Dinners
- Ritz Chicken - Juicy chicken breast coated in a crispy, perfectly seasoned Ritz cracker breading.
- Air Fryer Whole Chicken - Now you can make a delectably juicy whole chicken with crispy skin, all right in your air fryer.
- Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie - This easy chicken pot pie casserole is filled with all the same flavors as a classic chicken pot pie but with biscuits instead of crust.
- Chicken Marsala - The whole family will enjoy this juicy chicken breast with savory mushroom sauce, especially with pasta.
- Fried Chicken - This crispy fried chicken is classic comfort food that will pair wonderfully with all of your favorite Southern side dishes.
- Million Dollar Baked Chicken Breast - A perfectly cooked chicken breast coated in 3 kinds of melted cheese and crispy bacon.
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📖 Recipe Card
Hibachi Chicken (Benihana Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon cooking oil (Benihana's recipe suggests Safflower oil)
- 7 ounces chicken breast (boneless, skinless - cut into bite size pieces)
- 2 mushrooms (cut or sliced into 8 pieces)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ tablespoon sesame seeds
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Add the cooking oil to a non-stick skillet or frying pan that is preheated to medium high heat. *400 degrees F (204 degrees C) if using an electric skillet.
- Place chicken and sliced mushrooms in the heated skillet, cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the chicken is done and no pink is showing on the pieces. Stir occasionally while cooking the chicken and mushrooms. *The mushrooms can be added in the last few minutes, if you prefer to have your mushrooms less cooked.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, add the butter, lemon juice, and sesame seeds. Stir to combine ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
Notes
- Benihana uses safflower oil to prepare its hibachi recipes, but any cooking oil with a high smoke point will work. Canola oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil, or peanut oil are all great choices.
- This recipe only calls for 2 sliced mushrooms per serving, but you can certainly add more if you like!
- This is a fantastic meal prep recipe! Just triple the using the scale function on the recipe card below and portion it into containers for lunch or dinner the following days!
Kel says
Thanks for posting this. It’s interesting that they posted that recipe, since both at Benihana (and every Teppanyaki restaurant I’ve ever been to), all splash on soy sauce and sometimes rice wine or plum wine during the process.
Another helpful way to make this is to microwave the mushrooms for ~2 minutes prior to cooking. This gets rid of some of the water, which can interfere with the chicken browning. You can also throw that liquid in with the butter at the end to get a hit of extra flavor.