Our family loves to dine at traditional hibachi grills. Every large town has one or more. They were popularized in the 1960s by the food chain Benihana. Unfortunately, it is not practical to take the WHOLE family at one time to any local restaurant that doesn’t have a playground.
The solution, plan one of your 52 Sunday Dinners around a hibachi grill. OK, it’s a portable indoor grill made for pancakes and burgers, but it works great. The grill is 12″ x 21″ and I actually have two of them. I have found that one griddle and one wok work best. Keep in mind the whole theme of 52SundayDinners.com is about getting together with YOUR family. The flow of food using one grill and one wok is just right.
The meal usually consists of a salad, soup, grilled vegetables and grilled protein.
The Salad
The salad is a simple Romaine lettuce salad with three small hearts of Romaine lettuce cut into slivers and with a little added purple cabbage and two grated carrots. The dressing is a simple blend of 1 cup of Original Ranch Dressing and 2 tablespoons of Ginger Marinading Sauce. You may substitute Orange Ginger Marinating Sauce.
Egg Drop Soup
Using two eggs and two packages of Egg Drop Soup Mix, this course will take just a couple of minutes to prepare and will be just right to complement your hibachi grill night.
Fried Rice Ingredients
- 3 1/2 Cups – White or Jasmine Rice
- 7 Cups – Water
- 3 1/2 Tablespoons – Butter
- 3 1/2 Teaspoons – Salt
- 2 Cups – Mixed Frozen Vegetables, inc. Carrots, Peas & Corn
- 1 Small Can – Water Chestnuts
- 2 Cups – Bean Sprouts
- 4 Each – Large Eggs
- Soy Sauce
Fried Rice Preparation
- Prepare rice by boiling water with salt and butter.
- Add rice, bring back to a boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Allow rice to cool at room temperature, and then refrigerate if needed.
- When it is time to prepare the rice, add rice to a large wok, add a few ounces of water if needed at this time.
- Add the balance of the ingredients and cook until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and hot.
- You may add Oyster Sauce or Sesame Seed Oil if that is the flavor you are are used to.
The Onion Train
If you have EVER been to a hibachi grill restaurant such as Benihana, you have seen the train trick. Slice and stack onions into a stack, add a 1/2 ounce of vegetable oil and 1/2 ounce of vodka. Light the top and watch the smoke and flames blow. Try this before the company arrive and remember that you are working with fire, and children.
I love the look on my granddaughter’s face.
Then blow the whistle!
Hibachi Grilled Vegetables – Ingredients
- 8 Each – Small Zucchini Squash, Yellow Squash or a combination
- 2 Each – Large Onions
- 10-15 Each – Small Mushrooms (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons – Butter
- Vegetable Oil
- Soy Sauce
- Sesame Seeds
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Vegetable Preparation
- Save time by cutting zucchini and/or squash into 2″ logs and chopping them in a potato chopper. In our home we call it the “Papa Chopper.”
- Cut onions, mushrooms and the balance of the ingredients in large chunks.
- Heat griddle to medium high heat, approximately 300 to 325 degrees.
- Coat grill with a generous coating of vegetable oil such as canola oil.
- Add vegetables and butter and saute, seasoning with soy sauce, sesame seeds, salt and pepper until it is just like you like it. Remember, you are in your own home. It is OK to sample the food for quality control purposes.
Protein Ingredients
- 2 Pounds – Pork Chops, cubed
- 2 Pounds – Fresh Chicken Breasts, cubed
- 3/4 Pound Fresh Shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 Tablespoons – Butter
- Vegetable Oil
- Soy Sauce
- Sesame Seeds
- Sesame Seed Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Protein Preparation
- In a hibachi grill restaurant the chef arrives at your table/grille with everything almost ready to cook. Since you are most likely cooking on Teflon or other non-stick surface, you cannot cut on it, or use it as a cutting board. You will need to cube your chicken, pork or beef on a cutting board in advance.
- Place meat on grill immediately after removing vegetables, leaving grill at medium high heat, approximately 300 to 325 degrees.
- Re-coat grill with a generous coating of vegetable oil such as canola oil.
- Add meat and butter and saute, seasoning with soy sauce, sesame seeds, salt and pepper until it is just like you like it. By now I don’t have to remind you, you are in your own home. It is OK to sample the food for quality control purposes.
- Bonus: pass chopsticks to the family and see who can actually EAT with chopsticks.
The before picture:
The DURING picture:
Don’t forget the fortune cookies!
Serves seven adults plus a bunch of kids, including one that think stabbing a his chicken and using it as a fork is “eating with chopsticks.”
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