I`ve been working nearly nine months as a Head Chef for a Japanese Restaurant in the U.S.
Thought some of you might like how Hibachi works.
There is a table where people sit. The order is taken by waiters. When the order comes inside the kitchen, helper will prepare all the food and put in a small trolley. The chef will push or pull that trolley with loads of full and come to the table. The table is hot and all hungry people are around you. Cooking starts by doing a show. Some people are just hungry and they don't care how good you do your show. They just want to eat and leave or perhaps are in a hurry to catch a movie with his girlfriend.
Most Japanese restaurants in the U.S. are americanized; meaning that sauce, and cooking is done more to the American Taste. Shrimp Sauce, which I will share you here later on how to make it also different from restaurant to restaurant, each keep one of them add a little bit of this and that to make it unique.
So after giving the sauce, you check the order and start cooking. It usually takes around 15 minutes to cook for 8 people, but to do that you have to cook fast.
I have noticed that people in southern part of US love RICE more so they eat a lot.
Perhaps this is a bit different in Cities.
Main menu items are Chicken, Beef/Steak, Shrimp, Jumbo Shrimp (a little big Shrimp), Scallops, King Crab Legs, Lobster, Fried Rice, Salmon, Red-Snaper, Vegetable Platter, Fillet Minion (A better kind of Steak that is more tender and has less fat). Vegetable includes Zucchini, Onion, Broccoli, Mushroom, Carrots, Cabbage and of course two important sauce Shrimp Sauce and Ginger Sauce. Some restaurants offer Mustard Sauce as well.
There are many different ways to start cooking but usually, when customers are served clean chicken soup and salad, the cooking starts on the grill, Rice is fried. Some restaurants mix scrambled cooked-eggs, and a mixture of raw peas and corns in the rice. A spoonful of sugar is also added in the rice before it is cooked. Chefs carry two kinds of sauce one is Soya Sauce (Salty Taste), the other Teriyaki sauce (Sweet Taste). Once the rice is done and serve, they serve Jumbo Shrimp 2 pc for each person, then vegetables and the meat. When cooking Steak, customers are asked how the steak is to be cooked; rare, medium rare, medium, medium well, well, and well done. Well done is very rare except some people love it that way. Steak the more you cook the more tougher it becomes.
To please customers, I have noticed that being humble, down-to-earth, smiling does more than even trying to best at cooking! Teriyaki order usually comes with Brocoli and Hibachi comes with Mushroom but customers can pick what they want to eat. I notice that more and more American like Broccoli over mushroom. In order to cook faster, brocoli is partially cooked by boiling it inside the kitchen and keeping it in refrigerator not more than 2 days; if more they are dumped.
Almost about 90% of the people never through their food. What is left on the plate is taken home using a carry out box, to enjoy it later as a dinner or tomorrow's morning snack.
Some Japanese Restaurants using MSG (monosodium glutamate) to enhance flavor but equally many have stopped using since there could be customers who are allergic to this salt. When you have table full of customers; some time upto 12 people, its hard to cook for some those who are allergic to certain food such as Shrimp.
Cooking is fun. Job is a Job. When you love cooking, you enjoy it so much, you forget to make your own food. So even if you have an empty belly, you can get full by watching customers eat your food that is cooked with care, love and passion.
Enjoy food!
