Spicy Hibachi Chicken & Chicken Fried Rice

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of Japanese or Chinese cuisine. Mostly because it's a lot of fish...and I don't like fish! The chicken dishes I can usually handle, although I usually find them too bland. Oscar, on the other hand, LOVES Japanese and Chinese. From Sushi to shrimp to Orange chicken...he'll eat it all! We don't go to those types of restaurants very often though because there are more things that we both enjoy, but on Oscar's birthday, every year, we all go to Benihana.

Here are some pictures of us there on his last birthday in March: 

Oscar in Chloe's hat ;)

Oscar and Chloe

Our chef. He was a lot of fun and really took to Chloe and tried to get her interested.

The whole family. My mom and dad, Me, Chloe and Oscar.

When we were at Benihana in March I tried something new, the spicy hibachi chicken, and I really enjoyed it! And the chicken fried rice, of course, is ALWAYS good. So now I won't dread out trip to Benihana next year! ;) lol! 

Starting in the fall, Chloe will be going to a Christian school. We are so excited for her because we know this is the best decision for her at this time, but the extra expense is something we weren't planning on as this was sort of a last minute decision. Oscar has been putting in so many extra hours lately trying to make ends meet since I can't start back to work until school starts later this month. He's been so good about it, willingly giving his days off to put in extra hours at another store. I wanted to do something little to thank him. So, I took to pinterest and found some "copy-cat" Benihana recipes! And, oh my goodness, did they turn out good! I will definitely be making again soon! We ate every last bit of it! 

So without further ado...the recipes!

Spicy Hibachi Chicken

(This is not my image, unfortunately in all the excitement to eat I forgot about pictures) :(
Link

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used fillets)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 tbsp Sesame Seed Oil

3 tbsp Soy Sauce

4 tbsp butter

2 tsp lemon juice

1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 2)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Wash chicken and dry. Cut into bite-size pieces. 

2) Heat vegetable oil and sesame seed oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat

3)Add chicken, soy sauce, butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and cayenne pepper to skillet

4) Saute for about 6-10 minutes (until no longer pink); Stir well to mix all ingredients.

Chicken Fried Rice

(Again, not my picture. I actually didn't use the peas and carrots.)

Link

Ingredients: 

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (again, I used fillets)

4 cups cooked white rice

4 tbsp butter, softened 

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp sesame seed oil

3 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp sesame seed oil

1 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup green onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Cook rice according to package instructions. Put in freezer or refrigerator to cool to room temperature. 

2) Mince garlic. In a bowl, soften butter. Mix garlic and butter. 

3) Wash and dry chicken. Cut into bite-size pieces.

4) Scramble eggs in frying pan with 1 tsp sesame seed oil, cut into small pieces and put aside.

5) In a large frying pan add 2 tbsp sesame seed oil and cook the onion on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. 

6) Add chicken, and add salt and pepper to taste. Chicken should take about 5-10 minutes to cook. 

7) Add 1 tbsp of your garlic butter mixture.

8) Start adding a couple of handfuls of rice into the chicken and onions, pour rest of butter garlic mixture in as you add the rice. Stir well so everything gets well mixed. If desired, add more salt and pepper now. 

9) Add soy sauce. Mix well so everything is evenly distributed. 

And your done! The rice definitely took longer. I made it first and put it on another burner on low heat while I made the hibachi chicken so that it wouldn't get cold. But it was all SO good! Next time, I think I'll make a bigger portion of the hibachi chicken because it was gone in a snap!

Arigato Gozaimasu!

 Enjoy!