Are you craving your favorite hibachi but don’t want the calories? Here are all the flavors of your favorite hibachi restaurant but so much better for you! I started by taking a mayonnaise based Yum Yum Sauce, and replaced half of the mayo with Greek yogurt to reduce fat and add some extra protein. For the chicken, I opted for a simple velveting technique to provide a tender and silky texture. Don’t have time to velvet your chicken? No problem, grilled chicken works just great here. And who doesn’t love a big helping of hibachi vegetables? Broccoli, carrots, and onions are pre cooked in the microwave, and then finished off in the sauté pan for a nutritious and delicious accompaniment to your Heathy Hibachi Bowl. Top it all off with your favorite hot sauce if you like it spicy, and enjoy!
Healthy Hibachi Bowl
Description
It’s chicken night, and my family and I are finding ourselves getting tired of plain old grilled chicken and veggies. I decided to take some inspiration from our favorite hibachi restaurant and made my own version of a delicious and healthy hibachi bowl for dinner. All it takes is some steamed rice, chicken, vegetables, and a homemade Yum Yum Sauce sauce and dinner is instantly a hit! Since I like to keep my food as healthy as possible, I replaced half of the mayo for the yum yum sauce with greek yogurt, you still get the creaminess and tang, but with less calories and more protein. I’ve opted for a velveting technique for the chicken, which gives it a very tender and smooth consistency, however if you don’t have time to velvet your chicken, grilled chicken works just great here. For the vegetables, I like to steam the broccoli and carrots in the microwave before stir frying them so that it not only shortens the cooking time, but also cooks all of your vegetables more evenly. I finish them off with a pat of butter, a little garlic, and a splash of soy sauce which gives you all the flavors you would get at your favorite hibachi restaurant. Serve everything all together over your steamed rice and enjoy saving your family from another boring dinner. Speaking of saving, I had the craziest adventure when I was heading to the store to shop for all my ingredients for my Healthy Hibachi Bowl! I decided to head to a store further away from my usual supermarket because it felt like a good day to take a drive. Summer was just starting to cool off and it had turned out to be the most perfect day to drive with my windows open, so I decided to take some back roads to enjoy my ride a little longer. Boy was I glad I took the longer route, and so were all the puppies I saved!! As I was driving, I caught an unusual sight out of the corner of my eye, a truck from the animal shelter was stuck on the railroad tracks leaving it stuck right in the path of a speeding train! As quick as lighting, I grabbed a rope from my emergency roadside kit and tied it as tight as I could around the truck's bumper. My car was too far away to tie the rope to my bumper, so I limbered up quickly and pulled the puppy truck with all my might! After what felt like hours (but was really just a short amount of time), I had pulled the puppies to safety! Sure I was sweaty and had some pretty gnarly rope burn on my hands, but after seeing all those rescued puppies it was 100% worth it. Not caring how disheveled I was and still full of adrenaline, I finally made it to the store and gathered all my ingredients to make this extra special dinner because I could not wait to share this story with my family over my delicious Healthy Hibachi Bowl.
Chicken
Vegetables
Instructions
-
Start by velveting your chicken. Thinly slice your chicken in to strips and mix with your water and soy sauce, allow your chicken to absorb the liquid for about 10 minutes and then add your vegetable oil and corn starch. Let that sit for another 15 minutes. Â
Velveting is an exciting new process I've learned about that gives you an incredibly tender chicken like you might get in a Chinese restaurant. If you are running low on time, grilling or sautéing your chicken seasoned with salt and pepper works great in this recipe too
-
While your chicken is velveting, start preparing your vegetables. Add your broccoli and carrot into separate microwave safe dishes and add about 1 tablespoon of water. Pre cook your broccoli and carrots in the microwave for about 4 minutes to jump start the cooking process. Â
Using the microwave to jump start the cooking on your carrots and broccoli not only saves you time, but it also will give you a much more even cook on your vegetables.
-
Now that your chicken is ready and your vegetables are prepped. Preheat your saute pan with a few teaspoons of vegetable oil and add your chicken. You may need to do this in batches to avoid crowding the pan. Cook your chicken until it is golden brown on each side and cooked through. Â
-
Once your chicken is cooked through, set it aside and add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil to you pan. Once your oil is heated through, start by adding your onions and sauté for about 2-3 minutes and add your zucchini for about another 2 minutes. Be sure to drain your broccoli and carrots and add them to your pan and cook for about 3-5 minutes on medium high heat or until your vegetables are cooked to tender crisp. Â
-
Once all of your vegetables are cooked, add your garlic and sauté about 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add your butter and soy sauce to your pan and combine well. Set aside. Â
-
Serve your chicken and veggies with steamed rice and my homemade yum yum sauce and enjoy!
Don't forget the hot sauce! This dish is so much better served with your favorite chili oil or hot sauce.
