Flat Top Grill - Hibachi Shrimp and Fried Rice: Restaurant Flavor in Your Own Backyard
A night out at a hibachi restaurant runs $30 to $50 a head by the time you add drinks and tip. A Blackstone griddle can replicate almost every bit of that experience — the sizzle, the smoke, the flavor — for a fraction of the cost and without leaving your backyard.
This is one of the most searched flat top griddle recipes online for a reason. It delivers. Here's how to make it right.
Why the Blackstone Makes This Work
A wok or skillet on your kitchen stove gets warm. A Blackstone griddle gets hot — real hot — and that difference is everything when it comes to fried rice.
Hibachi restaurants cook on steel flat tops at extremely high temperatures. That heat is what gives the rice its slightly crispy edges, what gives the shrimp their caramelized crust, and what creates that distinct smoky flavor you can never quite get at home on a regular burner. The Blackstone runs hot enough to replicate it. A full-size kitchen stove doesn't come close.
The other advantage is space. A 36-inch griddle lets you cook the rice, shrimp, and vegetables all at once in different heat zones. You're running a full hibachi dinner simultaneously instead of cooking things in batches and letting half of it get cold.
What You Need
For the fried rice:
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice, chilled (day-old is ideal)
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
- 1/2 white onion, diced small
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Canola or avocado oil for the griddle
For the hibachi shrimp:
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin (or a splash of rice vinegar with a pinch of sugar)
- Squeeze of fresh lemon
- Sesame seeds and sliced green onion for garnish
For yum yum sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Splash of rice vinegar
Mix the yum yum sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it. It gets better as it sits.
The Setup
Prep everything before you fire up the griddle. Hibachi-style cooking moves fast, and the worst thing you can do is be searching for ingredients while your rice is burning.
Get your rice, shrimp, vegetables, eggs, and sauces portioned out and on a tray. Have your spatulas ready. Slice your green onions. Mix your yum yum sauce. Once the griddle is hot, the whole cook takes under 20 minutes — but it moves quickly.
The Method
Step 1: Preheat and set your zones. Fire up the Blackstone on medium-high across the whole surface and let it heat for 8 to 10 minutes. Once it's hot, dial one side back to medium-low. That cooler zone is where you'll park finished ingredients while the rest of the cook catches up.
Step 2: Start the rice. Add a thin coat of canola oil to the hot side. Add your diced onion and cook for 2 minutes until it softens. Push the onion to the edges, add a little more oil, then dump the cold rice down in an even layer.
Press the rice flat against the griddle with your spatula. Let it sit undisturbed for a minute to build some crust on the bottom. You'll hear it sizzle. That's what you want.
Step 3: Add eggs and vegetables. Push the rice to one side. Add the beaten eggs to the open space and scramble them quickly — they cook in under a minute on a hot griddle. Fold the cooked egg into the rice. Add the peas and carrots, then pour the soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic over everything. Toss and fold it all together. Keep moving it.
Move the finished rice to the cooler zone to hold while you cook the shrimp.
Step 4: Cook the shrimp. Add butter to the hot side of the griddle. Once it melts and foams, add the garlic and let it go for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the shrimp in a single layer.
Don't crowd them. Let them cook without stirring for 60 to 90 seconds until the bottom side turns pink, then flip. Pour the soy sauce and mirin over the top. Squeeze lemon over everything. The shrimp are done when they're pink all the way through and curl into a loose C-shape. Overcooked shrimp curl tight — pull them before that happens.
Step 5: Combine and serve. Plate the fried rice first, then lay the shrimp across the top. Drizzle yum yum sauce over everything. Hit it with sliced green onion and sesame seeds.
Eat it right away. This doesn't wait well.
The Tips That Matter Most
Use cold, day-old rice. Freshly cooked rice has too much moisture. It steams instead of frying and turns mushy on the griddle. Cook your rice the night before, spread it on a sheet pan, and refrigerate it uncovered. The drier the rice, the crispier it fries.
Don't overcook the shrimp. Shrimp go from perfectly cooked to rubbery in about 30 seconds. Watch them closely. Pink and opaque means done. Tightly curled means overdone.
Use the heat zones. The ability to run a hot zone and a warm zone simultaneously is the whole advantage of a flat top over a single burner. Use it. Park finished components on the warm side while the rest of the cook finishes.
Sesame oil goes in at the end. Sesame oil has a low smoke point and burns quickly on a hot griddle. Add it toward the end of the rice cook, not at the start. You want the aroma and flavor — not the burnt taste.
Make extra yum yum sauce. It keeps in the fridge for a week and goes on everything. You'll want it for leftovers, for grilled chicken, for dipping vegetables. Just make a double batch while you're at it.
Scaling It Up for a Group
This recipe feeds four comfortably as a main dish. Doubling it for a crowd is simple on a larger griddle — just run more shrimp in a second round rather than crowding the surface, and keep the finished batches on the warm zone until everything is ready to plate.
This is one of the best cookout recipes you can run when you're feeding mixed groups. It's naturally gluten-friendly with a swap to tamari, works great for people who don't eat red meat, and the yum yum sauce alone will have people asking what's in it.
Take It Further
Once you've got the basic recipe down, the flat top opens up from there. Swap the shrimp for scallops, add sliced steak for a full surf and turf hibachi spread, or toss in some zucchini and mushrooms for the vegetable cook. The method stays the same no matter what protein you use.
If you're new to flat top cooking or looking to upgrade your backyard setup, Angler's Pro Tackle & Outdoors carries a full selection of smokers and grills along with grill accessories to get you dialed in. We also carry rubs, spices, and sauces worth stocking in your outdoor kitchen.
Make it once and you'll be skipping the hibachi restaurant entirely.