Benihana’s standard hibachi steak is New York strip. The menu also lists a separate teriyaki sirloin and offers filet mignon as a premium upgrade, but the hibachi steak — the cubed, griddle-seared preparation — is NY strip.

NY strip has the right balance of marbling and structure for this technique. Enough intramuscular fat to stay juicy through a hard sear; enough muscle density to hold a cube shape without falling apart on the tongs. Top sirloin is a leaner, more affordable substitute that works well. Ribeye is a richer upgrade that tolerates the high heat beautifully. Filet mignon cooks too fast in small cubes and can overcook before a crust forms.

Steak Cut Comparison

Cut	Flavor	Marbling	Best For
NY Strip (Benihana standard)	Bold, beefy	Moderate	Closest to restaurant; holds up well
Ribeye	Very rich	High	Maximum flavor; some splattering
Top Sirloin	Mild, lean	Low	Budget option; slightly drier
Filet Mignon	Mild, buttery	Low	Upgrade in tenderness; overcooks fast in cubes
Flank / Skirt	Intense	Very low	Not recommended — fibrous in cube form

The flavor at Benihana comes from two things working together: garlic compound butter and the way soy sauce is applied.

The garlic butter is simple — softened butter with minced garlic, and at the restaurant a small amount of soy sauce worked in. It goes onto the pan after the steak has already formed its crust, not at the start. This timing matters: butter added to a steak at the beginning of a hard sear burns before the crust forms. Added after the first sear, it foams, coats the exterior of the cubes, and the garlic cooks for just 30 seconds — long enough to release its aroma without turning bitter.

The soy sauce step is where most home recipes go wrong. Drizzling soy sauce on the meat dilutes across the surface and produces a thin, salty coating. Benihana chefs pour soy sauce onto the hot griddle surface beside the meat. At 400–450°F, the water in the soy sauce evaporates in seconds and the amino acids and sugars concentrate into a glaze. The steak cubes are then tossed through that glaze — 15 seconds and it is done. That is where the dark, sticky, restaurant-quality exterior comes from.

Small cubes cook fast. A 1-inch NY strip cube goes from raw to medium-rare in about 3 minutes total. Pull it earlier than you think.

Doneness	Internal Temp (pull at)	Center Color
Rare	120–125°F (pull at 115°F)	Bright red throughout
Medium-rare	130–135°F (pull at 125°F)	Red center, warm pink
Medium	140–145°F (pull at 135°F)	Pink throughout
Medium-well	150–155°F (pull at 145°F)	Slightly pink center
Well-done	160°F+ (pull at 155°F)	No pink; dry texture

Medium-rare to medium is the recommended range for NY strip cubes — the fat renders slightly and the Maillard crust holds up without the interior drying out. Well-done produces a noticeably chewier result on a cut this size.

Benihana serves two sauces tableside. Neither is yum yum sauce — that is a mayo-based pink sauce common at other teppanyaki chains, not Benihana’s offering.

Mustard sauce (the primary steak sauce): Toasted sesame seeds blended with soy sauce until a paste forms, then combined with dry mustard powder (Coleman’s brand is the standard reference), garlic powder, water, and heavy whipping cream. The result is pale, creamy, and pungent — warming heat from the mustard, richness from the cream, and a sesame-soy backbone. Serve it with beef and chicken.

Ginger sauce (lighter, for vegetables and seafood): Fresh ginger and finely chopped white onion blended with soy sauce, lemon juice, and rice wine vinegar until smooth. Thin, tan-colored, tangy, and sharp. Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving — the flavors meld and the raw edge of the ginger softens.

Commercial teppanyaki grills run their main cooking surface around 400–450°F, with searing zones pushed to 500°F and higher for beef. A well-preheated cast iron skillet on a high-BTU home gas burner reaches the low end of that band — closer than most people assume. The real gap is surface area and recovery time. A restaurant griddle has dozens of square feet; it does not lose temperature when you add food. A 12-inch cast iron skillet drops temperature meaningfully when you add 2 lbs of cold steak.

Two solutions: preheat the pan for longer than you think necessary (4 full minutes on high), and cook in batches if the pan is crowded. A pan that holds 8 cubes with space between them will produce a better result than a pan jammed with 20 cubes trying to steam each other.

To build the full teppanyaki spread at home:

• Benihana fried rice — butter-cooked, day-old rice with egg, chicken, and peas. The most important thing: real butter, not oil. Cook it in the same cast iron after the steak is done — the fond left from the steak makes the rice even better.
• Garlic butter shrimp — a natural pairing; cook before the steak so the steak gets the hotter pan.
• Hibachi vegetables — zucchini and mushrooms cut thick, seared in butter and soy sauce in the same pan. Onion adds sweetness; broccolini holds up well.
• Japanese onion soup — thin broth with caramelized onion, mushrooms, and fried shallots. Takes 20 minutes from scratch or works with a quality dashi packet.
• Mustard dipping sauce — see above; make this first and refrigerate so it is ready when the steak comes off.

Cost comparison: the full four-person spread (steak + fried rice + shrimp + vegetables) runs $35–$45 in ingredients — roughly $9–$11 per person versus $90–$120 at the restaurant for two.

• Work in batches. This is the most important instruction. Crowding the pan drops the temperature and produces steamed, grey steak instead of seared, brown steak. If in doubt, cook half the batch at a time.
• Cut the cubes uniformly. Uneven cubes cook unevenly — some overdone, some raw. A minute of careful knife work prevents the problem.
• Add mushrooms. Benihana serves mushrooms alongside the steak. Thick-sliced button mushrooms or cremini seared in the same butter before the steak come out better than anything roasted in the oven.
• Upgrade to ribeye. More marbling, more flavor, same technique. Worth it for a special occasion. Cut away the external fat cap to reduce splattering.
• Marinate for teriyaki variation. Benihana’s teriyaki steak uses a sweet soy marinade. Combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon mirin, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1 clove minced garlic. Marinate the cubes for 30 minutes, pat dry, then sear as above. The sugar in the marinade speeds the Maillard reaction and produces a darker, sweeter exterior.

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
Grey steak, no crust	Pan not hot enough; cubes crowded	Preheat 4 full minutes; cook in smaller batches
Garlic burns and turns bitter	Added too early, pan too hot	Add garlic with the butter after the sear, not before; stir constantly
Steak overcooked	Small cubes cook faster than expected	Pull 5°F below target; use a thermometer
Soy sauce burns before coating	Added directly to steak; too early	Pour onto the pan surface beside the steak; apply after butter step
Butter burns and smells acrid	Pan too hot when butter is added	Reduce to medium-high before adding butter; stagger the heat
Cubes dry and chewy	Cut too small (under 3/4 inch); cooked past medium-well	Cut to 1 inch exactly; target medium or medium-rare
Steak steams instead of sears	Surface moisture; cold pan	Pat steak very dry before cooking; preheat fully

Hibachi steak is best eaten immediately — small cubes hold heat poorly and overcook easily on reheating. If you have leftovers, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

To reheat: hot skillet over medium-high heat, 30–45 seconds per side. Just enough to warm through without additional cooking. Alternatively, slice cold steak thin and use it in a grain bowl, wrap, or stir-fry where a brief additional cook is part of the dish. Do not microwave — the uneven heating turns some cubes rubbery while leaving others cold, and the garlic butter separates.

This recipe is intentionally sized for one sitting. Make what you plan to eat.

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To complete the full teppanyaki dinner, see Benihana chicken fried rice for the butter-rice technique, garlic butter shrimp for the surf portion of a surf-and-turf plate, and yum yum sauce — though note that Benihana’s actual dipping sauces are the mustard and ginger versions above, not yum yum sauce.