Copycat Benihana Hibachi Noodles (Yakisoba)
Benihana’s hibachi noodles — chewy yakisoba tossed on a screaming-hot flat griddle with garlic butter, soy, and crisp vegetables — are the side that disappears fastest from the teppanyaki spread. They take about 10 minutes to cook, cost roughly $4 for four servings at home, and the secret is the same one that runs through every Benihana dish: the garlic butter.
The Garlic Butter Is the Whole Story
Benihana makes a large compound butter at the start of each service: raw garlic blended into Kikkoman soy sauce, then folded into softened unsalted butter. A tablespoon of it goes into the fried rice, a tablespoon goes over the chicken, a tablespoon finishes the shrimp, and a tablespoon goes into the noodles. It is the consistent thread across the entire tableside menu.
At home, three minutes of mixing produces a week’s worth of this garlic butter. Make it first. Store it in a small jar in the fridge. Then every component of the Benihana spread — chicken, steak, vegetables, fried rice, noodles — gets easier because the hardest part is already done.
What Noodles to Use
The noodle matters here. Yakisoba noodles (Japanese wheat noodles, pre-cooked and refrigerated) have the right chew and don’t get gummy the way spaghetti or ramen does when stir-fried. Most Asian grocery stores carry them in the refrigerated produce section; many mainstream supermarkets now stock them too. Sun Noodle and Sun Luck are common brands. They come in 4-oz coils — three packages for four servings.
If your package includes a seasoning packet, discard it. You’re making your own sauce.
The High-Heat Step Most Home Cooks Skip
The char on Benihana noodles comes from direct contact with a 500°F+ flat griddle. At home, that means preheating your cast iron skillet or carbon steel wok for a full 3–4 minutes over the highest heat your stove produces until it is visibly smoking. Press the loosened noodles flat against the hot surface and don’t touch them for 45 seconds. You want some of the strands to char and crisp at the edges — those slightly burnt bits are exactly what makes them taste like the restaurant rather than a home stir-fry.
Garlic Butter Goes In Last, Off the Heat
This is the rule. The same high heat that gives the noodles their char will burn the garlic in under 10 seconds, turning it from sweet and nutty to harsh and bitter. Pull the pan off the burner before adding the garlic butter. Toss the noodles through the melting butter in the residual heat. That’s the move.
Complete the Benihana Spread
The classic Benihana combination plate is protein + fried rice + hibachi noodles + vegetables + soup + salad. If you’re doing the full spread at home:
- Hibachi chicken: Copycat Benihana hibachi chicken — boneless breast with mustard and ginger dipping sauces
- Hibachi steak: Copycat Benihana hibachi steak — NY strip, same garlic butter technique
- Fried rice: Benihana fried rice — the egg-well method and all protein variations
- Vegetables: Copycat Benihana hibachi vegetables — zucchini, mushrooms, and onion
- Yum yum sauce: Copycat Benihana yum yum sauce — the creamy pink dipping sauce
