Vegan Hibachi Recipe (Japanese Fried Rice)

Vegan hibachi is teppanyaki-style cooking done at home: cold day-old fried rice, teriyaki tofu, garlic-butter vegetables and a bowl of yum yum sauce, all cooked hot and fast in a heavy pan. The rice, the sauce and the pressed tofu are prepped the night before, so the actual cooking takes about twenty minutes.

Hibachi: What is it?

Hibachi is a traditional Japanese cooking technique that requires heating a stovetop with a heatproof spherical pot/container called a ‘Hibachi,’ which literally translates to ‘fire bowl.’

It’s typically linked with Japanese Teppanyaki establishments, where food is cooked on a super-hot, big iron hot plate instead of frying pans, pots, or woks, generally, table-side for visitors to see.

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Sadly, Teppanyaki restaurants aren’t always vegan-friendly. It’s also not simple to imitate their cooking techniques at home (unless you have a large iron hot plate, in which case, keep going).

Fortunately, you can enjoy superb restaurant-quality Hibachi-style Japanese fried rice at home using only a few simple kitchen utensils. It’s also better for you than takeout.

Why does the rice have to be cold?

Freshly cooked rice is still full of loose surface starch and steam. Drop it into a hot pan and it clumps, then steams rather than fries. Rice that has been spread out and chilled overnight loses that surface moisture, the grains firm up and separate, and they take on colour instead of turning to paste. It is the single biggest difference between fried rice at home and fried rice at a teppanyaki counter.

Heat matters just as much. The pan needs to be properly hot before anything goes in, and it needs room. If you crowd it, the temperature drops and you are back to steaming.

Tips to Make the Best Vegan Hibachi

• Prepare the rice the evening before or the morning of since it must be chilled. When you use cold rice, it becomes drier and less starchy, with a firmer consistency.
• To enable the flavours to emerge, make the yum yum sauce the night beforehand or the morning of. You’ll also need some roasted garlic butter, so make it ahead of time.
• Compress the tofu to remove excess water, cover it in a clean towel, and store it in the refrigerator for at least one day.
• If you use a large enough skillet or griddle, cook the fried rice in two batches. Working with a lesser quantity of rice can keep it from becoming mushy. It’s well worth the additional seven minutes.
• Have everything chopped, measured and within arm’s reach before the pan goes on. Once the heat is up there is no time to go looking for the soy sauce.
• Add additional plant-based scramble to make a more typical fried rice. The Just Folded Egg is perfect - it is the one I use. All you must do is cook the rice according to the package directions, then chop it into tiny bits before putting it in it the rice. If you do this, I’d advise using two folded eggs and an additional tablespoon of soy sauce.

Vegan Hibachi Recipe

List of Ingredients

Preparing the Roasted Garlic Butter

• ¼ teaspoon Ground Ginger
• 1 Bulb Garlic
• ½ cup Vegan Butter (115 g)

The Yum Yum Sauce

• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 2 tsp Tomato Paste
• 2 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 cup Vegan Mayo (240 g)

The Vegetables

• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 cup White Onion Sliced (160 g)
• 2 cups Broccoli Florets (180 g)
• 1 Zucchini Sliced
• 8 Ounces Mushrooms Quartered (225 g)

The Fried Rice

• 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
• 2 tbsp Vegan-Friendly Sake (30 ml)
• 3 tbsp Soy Sauce
• ¼ cup White Onion Diced (40 g)
• 1 cup Frozen Peas and carrots (150 g)
• 4 cups Cooked White Rice Chilled (620 g)

The Teriyaki Tofu

• 1 tbsp Avocado Oil
• 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• ¼ cup Teriyaki Sauce (60 ml)
• 1 Block Extra-Firm Tofu

Directions

Rice with Roasted Garlic Butter (Make the Evening Before)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175°C).
2. Arrange the whole garlic head on a small baking sheet and roast for half an hour. While the garlic is roasting, prepare the rice per the package directions, chill it, and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use. (I started with 1½ cups of dry rice and cooked it with three cups of water and one tablespoon of vegan butter, yielding around 4 cups of cooked rice.)
3. Extract the roasted garlic cloves from the peel and mash with a fork after the garlic has cooled enough to handle. Combine the butter and powdered ginger in a mixing bowl. To blend, whisk everything together thoroughly. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

See Also: Vegan Takoyaki Recipe

The Yum Yum Sauce – Get Ready the Evening Prior

Combine all ingredients with roasted garlic, plus 1 tbsp and melted butter. Stir everything and put it in the fridge to let the flavours meld. Overnight is genuinely better than an hour, the paprika and garlic need time to soften into the mayo.

The Teriyaki Tofu – Compress the Evening Before

1. While the garlic is roasting, compress the tofu to expel extra water for at least half an hour. Then, refrigerate it in a clean towel until ready to use.
2. Chop the tofu into cubes the day before. Stir in the soy sauce. Toss in the cornflour to cover. Heat the oil in a griddle over medium-high heat and add the tofu. Cook for 12-15 minutes, turning occasionally to ensure even browning. Throw in the teriyaki sauce, stir well, and heat for another minute to thicken and caramelise the sauce.

I Strongly Advise Splitting Quantities in Half and Preparing in Two Batches When Making Fried Rice

Heat one tablespoon of avocado oil over high heat in a big pan or wok. Add the onion and frozen veggies once the pan is heated and simmer for 1 minute. Cook for 4 minutes with the rice and four tablespoons of roasted garlic butter. Sauté for another two minutes after adding the sauce and sake - salt and pepper to taste. To keep the fried rice warm, pack it tightly into bowls.

See Also: Vegan Purin Recipe (Japanese pudding recipe)

Sautéing Vegetables

In a large pan, warm sesame oil over medium-high heat. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, or until the broccoli is soft and the liquid has gone, adding the vegetables, soy sauce, and two tablespoons roasted garlic butter - salt and pepper to taste.

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FAQs

Is hibachi the same thing as teppanyaki?

Not quite, though the words get used interchangeably outside Japan. A hibachi is a small open charcoal brazier, while teppanyaki is cooking on a flat iron griddle, which is what most restaurants labelled “hibachi” are actually doing. What people mean by hibachi food is teppanyaki food: fried rice, griddled vegetables and protein, cooked in front of you.

Is yum yum sauce vegan?

Not usually. The standard restaurant version is built on egg-based mayonnaise, and some brands add dairy. The homemade version here uses vegan mayo, so it is fine, but bottled yum yum sauce needs a label check. Formulations vary between countries, so a brand that is dairy-free in one market may not be in another.

Can I use brown rice instead of white?

Yes, and the same rule applies: cook it, spread it out and chill it overnight. Brown rice holds more water and has a chewier bran layer, so it needs an extra minute or two in the pan and a slightly hotter surface to take on colour. It will never get quite as light as white rice, but it works.

What can I use instead of sake?

Dry sherry, Shaoxing wine or a dry white wine all do a similar job. If you would rather skip alcohol, use two tablespoons (30 ml) of vegetable stock with a splash of rice wine vinegar. You lose a little depth, but the dish still works. Check the label on sake and Shaoxing wine, as some are fined with animal-derived products.

How long do the leftovers keep?

Store the components in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat the rice in a hot dry pan rather than the microwave so it crisps again instead of going soft. Cooked rice should be cooled quickly and refrigerated within an hour, and reheated once only, until steaming hot right through.

Wrapping UP

So let me know in the comments section how this vegan hibachi recipe turned out for you.

• fried rice
• tofu