This easy homemade hibachi steak recipe is a Benihana copycat easy recipe that brings your favorite Japanese steakhouses to your own kitchen! Without any fancy equipment, and with a few pantry staple ingredients, it has never been easier to make a “special occasion” meal any day of the week.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
The steak cooks quickly: Hibachi-style cooking uses high heat, so these bite-size pieces come together in under 15 minutes, just like at the restaurant.
No special equipment needed: You do not need a flat-top grill or flat surface griddle in your home to get restaurant-quality results. A good, heavy skillet gets the job done.
Easily customizable: This base recipe works for making a mix-and-match combo dinner, with hibachi shrimp and chicken, just like at Benihana!
Restaurant-style side sauce: Most hibachi restaurants, including Benihana, serve their entrees with a few different dipping sauces. One of the most popular creamy dipping sauces is yum yum sauce, which is so easy to make at home!
Ingredient Notes
- Striploin steak: Striploin, New York strip steak (NY strip) is the best steak for hibachi. The balance between meatiness and fat keeps the steak juicy and moist while cooking quickly. Top sirloin steaks tend to be on the leaner side, which is easier to dry out when cooking at home. 1-1 ½ inches is the perfect thickness.
- Unsalted butter: Unsalted butter is a better choice for this recipe, as the soy sauce adds more than enough salt to the dish. It also allows you to control the salt levels to your taste.
- Soy sauce: You will want to use regular light soy sauce in this recipe. This is the soy sauce you will most commonly find in your local grocery store. You can use low-sodium soy sauce if you prefer.
- Fresh garlic: I highly recommend using fresh garlic for this recipe. The base of Benihana's hibachi steak is freshly made garlic butter, so you want the flavors to be as bright, fresh, and zesty as possible.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
Substitutions
- Striploin steak: Hibachi restaurants, especially Benihana, usually offer a filet mignon option. You can also use a more marbled ribeye steak. I do suggest leaning toward a more tender steak instead of a tougher cut of meat since this is a quick-cooking easy steak recipe.
- Soy sauce: Coconut aminos or liquid aminos can be used in place of soy sauce.
- Unsalted butter: You can use salted butter if that is what you have on hand. Be mindful of adding additional salt or soy to the sauce to keep the salt levels in check.
- White pepper: You can use black pepper if that is what you have on hand.
Variations
- Spicy: Mix in or top with sriracha or chili oil for a kick. For a fun fusion twist, add use homemade Indian-Chinese chili garlic sauce!
- Deluxe: Saute cremini mushrooms with the steak for more hibachi goodness.
- Flat top: If you have an outdoor flat top grill like a Blackstone griddle or a griddle on your stove, you can use it to make this hibachi steak. This will also give you a more authentic feel!
- Extra garlic: If you want to add some variation of garlic flavor to the hibachi marinade/sauce, try adding a touch of garlic powder.
- Sesame: Add a drizzle of sesame oil with the neutral oil when cooking, and sesame seeds as a garnish, for a subtle sesame flavor.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all ingredients: This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Bring the steak to room temperature: Take the steak out of the fridge 10-15 minutes before searing. Pat the steaks dry with a paper towel before searing for the best sear.
Prep garlic butter: Make a batch of homemade Benihana garlic butter using an immersion blender or food processor.
Heat the Skillet
Place a 12” cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoon of neutral oil, such as canola, peanut, or vegetable oil.
Season the striploin steaks generously with salt and white pepper on both sides. Place the steaks in the heated skillet.
Sear the Steaks
Let the steaks sear on the first side for 2 minutes to get a good sear. Flip the steaks and sear for another 2 minutes.
Cut into Pieces
Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces. The steak will still be almost raw in the center.
Finish the Steak
Transfer the steak pieces to the hot skillet. Add the garlic butter and teriyaki sauce to the steak cubes, and cook for 2 minutes.
Expert Tips
Be sure to preheat: You want the pan to be very hot, to replicate the high-heat teppanyaki (hibachi) surface. This will also give the steak that hard sear in a very short cooking time.
Leave the steak alone: Once the steak is in the pan, avoid turning it or tossing it unnecessarily. The only way to get the hibachi char is by letting the steak sit.
Use a large skillet: A large skillet is important for this recipe, as the larger surface area will retain heat better. It will also help the steak sear and char. A small skillet will cause the heat to drop, and steak could potentially 'steam'.
Prepare the sauce: Make the yum-yum sauce the night before and let it sit in the fridge for the flavors to meld. This is important - the sauce will not taste the same if served right away.
Make Ahead & Storage
- The soy garlic butter can be prepared up to 1 week in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. The butter can be used cold or at room temperature.
- The homemade yum yum sauce can be made 3-5 days before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge, and keep chilled until you are ready to eat.
- Leftover cooked hibachi steak can be stored for 2-3 days in an airtight container, once cooled to room temperature. Keep in the fridge until you are ready to eat.
- Reheat leftovers in a skillet over medium heat. Be sure to heat the steak through, but do not overcook the bites. They can overcook quickly, so keep an eye on them.
Serving Suggestions
- Sides: Serve this Benihana steak with steamed jasmine rice for a time-saving side. You can opt for sheet pan pineapple fried rice instead, or for a classic hibachi meal, Benihana-style hibachi fried rice.
- Vegetables: Traditionally, this steak goes hand-in-hand with Benihana hibachi-style vegetables. Other great vegetable sides include garlic green beans, or air fryer soy and sesame broccoli.
- Sauces: In addition to the traditional yum yum sauce, serve this garlic hibachi steak with homemade Benihana mustard dipping sauce, bang bang sauce, or Benihana's zesty ginger dressing.
Recipe FAQs
Medium-rare steak: Approximately 2 minutes.
Medium steak: Approximately 3 minutes.
Well-done steak: Approximately 5 minutes.
Hibachi and Teriyaki steak are slightly different. Hibachi steak is cooked with more savory ingredients, whereas teriyaki sauce is sweeter. Teriyaki sauce is usually thick like a glaze with the addition of sugar or sweet mirin.
Not at all - Hibachi steak is very savory, but also very mild. If you prefer things spicier, you can adjust the flavors based on your preference.
You can test the heat of the grill or griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water onto the surface. If the water sizzles and evaporates immediately, it's hot enough for cooking.
More Asian Recipes
Easy Homemade Hibachi Steak (Benihana Copycat)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 10 oz Striploin steaks - 1-1 ½" thick
- 1 ½ teaspoon Sea salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon White pepper - ground
- 2 tablespoon Teriyaki sauce
- 2 tablespoon Benihana Garlic Butter
Yum Yum Sauce
- 1 ¼ cup Mayonnaise
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Salted butter - melted
- 1 teaspoon Tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Prepare a batch of yum yum sauce at least one day in advance.1 ¼ cup Mayonnaise, ¼ cup Water, 1 tablespoon Salted butter, 1 teaspoon Tomato paste, 1 teaspoon Garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Sugar, ½ teaspoon Paprika, ¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
- Make a batch of homemade Benihana garlic butter using an immersion blender or food processor.
- Place a 12” cast iron skillet on medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoon of neutral oil, such as canola, peanut, or vegetable oil.
- Season the striploin steaks generously with salt and white pepper on both sides. Place the steaks in the heated skillet.2 10 oz Striploin steaks, 1 ½ teaspoon Sea salt, 1 ½ teaspoon White pepper
- Let the steaks sear on the first side for 2 minutes to get a good sear. Flip the steaks and sear for another 2 minutes.
- Transfer the steaks to a cutting board. Cut the steak into bite-sized pieces. The steak will still be almost raw in the center.
- Transfer the steak pieces to the hot skillet. Add the garlic butter and teriyaki sauce to the steak cubes, and cook for 2 minutes.2 tablespoon Teriyaki sauce, 2 tablespoon Benihana Garlic Butter
Tyrone
Okay I will be there in about an hour and a half
Erin Brigham
Please stop changing the recipe!! Your changes to both the recipe and photos are making me feel like I'm losing my mind. If you've got an alteration to it, can you please still include the older version? First it was with Oyster Sauce and Soy, then you changed it and now it's completely all just Teriyaki and garlic butter?? The original recipe I saw with the oyster sauce was fantastic and now I have no access to it bc you edited this page. ?
Sunena
Hi Erin,
Sorry about that - I routinely retest recipes on here to make sure they are as good as possible. Here is the original recipe that you are looking for:
2 Striploin steaks
1 tablespoon Minced garlic
¼ cup Soy sauce
2 tablespoon Oyster sauce
½ cup Unsalted butter
Enjoy, and sorry for the confusion! 🙂