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Hibachi is a catch-all word for any style of Japanese grilling. Now a common name, hibachi is especially popular among those with a soft spot for Japanese cuisine and enjoy dining out or trying their own hand at cooking at home. But many of those addicted to Japanese grilling are unaware that the term hibachi is one such Japanese word often misused outside of Japan.
Hibachi-style has come to signify grilled Japanese-style cuisine, the grills they’re cooked on, and even the restaurants themselves. Interestingly though, none of these usages of hibachi are correct. Especially in the US, hibachi refers to a small cooking stove heated by charcoal – called a shichirin in Japanese – or to an iron griddle to cook food – called a teppan in Japanese – used in teppanyaki restaurants. Typically, when you eat at a hibachi restaurant or Japanese steakhouse you eat at a teppanyaki restaurant.
Hibachi (火鉢 – ひばち) is a Japanese word that means 'fire bowl'. Historically the original Japanese hibachi was conceived as an open-topped pot – usually cylindrical – into which charcoal was burned for the only purpose of heating a room. It is believed hibachi dates back to the Heian period of Japanese history. These traditional heating devices ranged from vase-like pots to hefty wooden 'tables' were used for warming hands and heating water. They were not originally intended for cooking. However – at least by the end of the 1800s – it is believed hibachi may also have been used to grill traditional Japanese treats, a natural complement to the tea being made in the teapots.
Teppanyaki – which in the Japanese language is pretty much equivalent to 'grilling over an iron plate' – is another different style of Japanese grilling often mistaken for hibachi. Teppan (鉄板 – てっぱん) is a flat iron griddle common at restaurants where the food – yaki means grilled food in Japanese – is cooked by the chef in front of customers. The teppanyaki chefs grill chicken, pork, beef, and seafood while guests view their skills from the teppanyaki grills. Teppanyaki grills can also be used to cook finely chopped side dishes such as eggs, vegetables, and rice.
Although it is not absolutely necessary, Japanese hibachi chefs recommend that you acquire binchotan – a dense white Japanese charcoal – because it stays alight for 3-5 hours and can be reused numerous times. Binchotan provides consistent, steady heat and an odourless burn for your barbecue, offering the best possible results for your cook. If you can't find binchotan, you can use lump charcoal or briquettes, also known as hot beads.
Hibachi grills are often associated with yakitori. Yakitori – literally 'grilled bird' – is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. Its preparation involves skewering the meat with kushi, a type of skewer typically made of steel, bamboo, or similar materials.
There is no rule that says you can only cook skewers on a hibachi grill. Hibachi grills can be used to cook a wide variety of food items, including beef, prawns, fish, quail and various vegetables. Cooking your food for the right amount of time and amplifying the flavours with more than salt and pepper are the key things to play around with. Anyway, if you're going to use skewers, choose meats or vegetables that are softer and easier to thread, such as eggplants, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and thin cuts of meat.
Yum yum sauce – also known as white sauce, shrimp sauce, hibachi sauce – is the most famous Japanese steakhouse hibachi sauce. Although this sauce is a popular Japanese steakhouse sauce, it didn't originate in Japan. You won’t find it in Japanese restaurants because it is an American invention. Yum Yum Sauce is a key component of the Japanese Hibachi Grill and steakhouses across North America and Canada. Japanese hibachi grills are incomplete without it. Yum yum sauce can be drizzled on fried rice and noodles, vegetables and used as a dipping sauce for shrimp, potstickers, and sushi.
Yum yum sauce is composed of standard ingredients, but all Japanese chefs use their own ratios. Yum yum sauce ingredients include paprika, butter, rice vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, ketchup, garlic powder, onion powder.
