Monday, July 9, 2012

Hibachi Restaurant Ham Fried Rice

I absolutely love the food at Japanese Steakhouse/Hibachi restaurants. It's my favorite food ever!! And how I love the fried rice at these places. I've been trying for a long time to come up with a recipe that is as close as possible to authentic Japanese fried rice, and so far this is my best version. I think the day old rice, garlic butter, and sesame seeds are key. I'm sure I'll keep tweeking this recipe, but "as is" I'm so happy with it and my family loved it. I served it with a green salad dressed with Asian sesame dressing. You can also leave out the ham and serve it as a side dish.

Hibachi Restaurant Ham Fried Rice

2 1/2 - 3 cups uncooked Calrose rice (cooked the day before)
3 tablespoons (or more) spreadable butter with canola oil (Land O' Lakes)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas and carrots (cooked)
1 onion, chopped (you can use green onions instead)
2 eggs, beaten
soy sauce
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
diced ham (about 1 1/2 cups)
onion salt
onion powder

The Day Before:
Cook rice according to package directions. I cook rice in a rice cooker and it always comes out perfect - rice cookers are awesome. Place rice in a covered container and refrigerate overnight.

The Day of:
Combine spreadable butter and garlic. Set aside.

Cook frozen peas and carrots and set aside.

In a large skillet or electric skillet (I like to use my electric skillet for this) melt the garlic butter over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft. Push onion to the side and scramble the egg in the skillet. Add the rice, peas and carrot, and stir until combined and heated through. Add sesame seeds, ham, and season with soy sauce to taste. Add onion salt and onion powder to taste. If the mixture is too dry add another couple tablespoons of spreadable butter. Taste before serving adding more soy sauce as needed. 

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