One of our favorite restaurant experiences is going out for a hibachi dinner. We love the fire displays and funny chefs flinging shrimp tails at our heads and the little onion volcanoes. When my daughter was a toddler, she used to call hibachi chicken “yum yum chicken” and would always ask to eat it. She loved dipping the tender chicken cubes and sliced veggies into the creamy yum yum sauce.
In an effort to make it a little easier on my wallet (going out for hibachi isn’t cheap), I started making a healthy, homemade version. It’s a great recipe because you can customize it to your favorite vegetables, and use rice, fried rice, cauliflower rice or even noodles as your side dish.
This version matches what we usually order at our local hibachi restaurant.
You’ll want to serve this homemade hibachi chicken with a generous side of yum yum sauce. You can make your own healthy yum yum sauce using my recipe or buy a store-bought yum yum sauce. You can find a traditional yum yum sauce or even a sugar free version.
What is Hibachi Chicken?
Hibachi chicken is a Japanese-inspired meal consisting of chicken and vegetables cooked on a flat iron grill served alongside rice or noodles with a generous serving of yum yum sauce, spicy mayo, or an egg-yolk sauce.
Yum Yum Chicken Ingredients
This healthy hibachi chicken recipe has minimal ingredients. You’ll need chicken breast, zucchini, onion, and carrots. For flavor, we’ll be adding some ginger, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin, and sesame oil. That’s it!
Serve with a side of rice, fried rice, cauliflower rice or even noodles. The possibilities are endless!
How to make Homemade Hibachi Chicken
You’ll start by slicing your chicken breast into small, bite-size cubes. Place chicken in a bowl, and add in the ginger, garlic, hoisin and soy sauce. Mix well and let it marinate for at least 10 minutes.
While the yum yum chicken is marinating, start chopping the vegetables. I like to chop the veggies into larger matchsticks -about 1/4″-1/2″ slices. Larger pieces help make sure they get caramelized on the outside without overcooking and getting soggy.
Warm a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add sesame oil. Once hot, add in your veggies, season with salt and pepper and stir fry until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
To cook the healthy hibachi chicken, you’ll place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle in sesame oil, and once it’s warm, add the marinated chicken. Stir fry until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce starts to caramelize and brown on the outside, stirring frequently.
Serve the cooked chicken and vegetables over rice or cauliflower rice, and serve with a generous serving of yum yum sauce for dipping.
Why You’ll Love This Healthier Hibachi (Yum Yum) Chicken
- Delicious Asian flavors
- Easy and fast – perfect for a weeknight dinner!
- Yum yum chicken is perfect for meal prep.
- Simple, natural ingredients.
Yum Yum Chicken (Homemade Healthy Hibachi)
Ingredients
- 4 pieces (500g) chicken breast, sliced into bite-size cubes
- 2 tsp grated ginger
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp hoisin
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 (80g) small white onion, chopped
- 2 (80g) large carrots, chopped
- 1 (320g) large zucchini, chopped
- salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place your cubed chicken into a bowl and add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and hoisin. Mix well and let marinate for 10 minutes
- Slice veggies into a 1/4" or 1/2" matchstick shape.
- Place nonstick pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tsp of sesame oil.
- Once hot, add the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
- Stir fry for 3-5 minutes, until vegetables are tender-crisp.
- Set vegetables aside. Add 2 tsp sesame oil to pan.
- Once pan is hot, add in the marinated chicken. Cook stirring frequently until chicken is cooked through and sauce is slightly caramelized, about 4-5 minutes.
- Serve cooked vegetables and chicken over rice or cauliflower rice, with yum yum sauce for dipping.
- Note: Nutritional info is for the vegetables and chicken only, and does not include any additional sauce or rice.
NOTE
Nutrition information for this recipe is provided below. For more information on the nutrition facts provided on this site, please visit our nutrition disclaimer.
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