Teppanyaki facts for kids
Teppanyaki (pronounced "tep-pan-yah-kee") is a fun style of Japanese cuisine that became popular after World War II. It involves cooking food on a large, flat iron griddle called a teppan. The word teppanyaki comes from teppan, meaning "metal plate," and yaki, which means "grilled" or "pan-fried."
Many people confuse teppanyaki with hibachi. While both involve cooking, a teppan is a solid, flat griddle, perfect for cooking small items like rice or chopped vegetables. A hibachi (also called a shichirin in Japan) is actually a barbecue grill with an open grate, usually heated by charcoal or gas. So, teppanyaki is all about that flat, hot surface!
Where Did Teppanyaki Start?
The teppanyaki style of cooking is thought to have begun at a Japanese restaurant chain called Misono. Shigeji Fujioka started this idea. Misono claims they were the first to cook Western-style foods on a teppan in Japan. This happened in 1945, right after World War II.
At first, this new cooking style was not as popular with Japanese people. But foreigners loved it! They enjoyed watching the chefs cook right in front of them. The food was also a bit more familiar than traditional Japanese dishes. As more tourists visited, the chefs started adding more of a "show" to their cooking. This is how cool tricks, like stacking onion slices to make a flaming onion volcano, became part of the teppanyaki experience!
What Foods Are Cooked on a Teppan?
For Western-style teppanyaki, chefs often cook foods like beef, shrimp, scallops, lobster, chicken, and different kinds of vegetables. They usually use soybean oil to cook these ingredients.
In Japan, teppanyaki can also include noodles, like yakisoba, or cabbage with sliced meat or seafood, known as okonomiyaki. These are cooked with vegetable oil, animal fat, or a mix. Many teppanyaki restaurants in Japan are famous for serving special meats like Kobe beef or Wagyu beef.
Meals often come with side dishes. These can include mung bean sprouts, zucchini, garlic chips, or fried rice. Some restaurants offer different sauces for dipping your food. In Japan, usually only soy sauce is given.
Teppanyaki in the United States
In the United States, teppanyaki became very popular, though it is often just called hibachi. The Benihana restaurant chain helped make it famous. Their first restaurant opened in New York in 1964. Even though Benihana cooks teppanyaki style, they also serve dishes like "hibachi steak" and "hibachi chicken."
Benihana and other teppanyaki restaurants still focus on the chef putting on a show for the diners. Chefs often do amazing tricks! They might juggle their cooking tools, flip a shrimp tail into their pocket, or catch an egg in their hat. Some chefs toss an egg in the air and split it with a spatula. They might even flip pieces of shrimp right into diners' mouths! And of course, the flaming onion volcano is a classic trick that everyone loves to see.
