Imagine walking into a steakhouse, and seeing a chef at every table, grilling and frying food on a fire bowl or large tray with a fire under, Yeah, you just walked into a Japanese steakhouse, The fire bowl is called the Hibachi, if they’re making use of a large iron tray, that would be a Teppanyaki.
So yeah, you’re excited but the question eating away at your mind remains, should I Sit back and enjoy? even, can diabetics eat hibachi foods?
What is Hibachi?
I’ll call it dinner and a cooking show, all in one, a real culinary performance! Hibachi in Japanese means “hi” (fire) and “bachi” (bowl). The Traditional hibachi is identified as a simple yet ancient and stylish cooking bowl, that can be made from wood, metal, or ceramic, the hibachi bowl also comes in different shapes and sizes, depending on your needs, as it was not always used as a cooking bowl and I’m sure the original manufacturers didn’t have that in mind when they were creating it.
The Hibachi’s origin can be traced back to Japan’s Heian Period which was between 794 and 1195, when they used the bowls to hold hot charcoal, thereby allowing them to stay warm for a while, but later on in the 1900’s they began to use the device to do some cooking, because cooking makes everything tastes even better.
Today, when you go into Hibachi restaurants or Teppanyaki steakhouses, you see the excitement and sometimes little fires everywhere, and chefs flipping shrimp and vegetables in the air, right in front of you, while cracking jokes to keep you more invested in their performance. Don’t worry, most times the meals are as yummy and interesting as the performance, but are they even healthy enough to be consumed? Let’s find out.
Is hibachi healthy?
If you can grill all your foods on a clean grill, it can be another way to keep your meals healthier. Aside from the fact that cooking your meat on a hibachi helps reduce the amount of fat and oil in it, it can also allow for fast cooking and minimum spices needed as the meat food cooks in their flavors before the chefs add their preferred sauces.
So, to answer the question is Hibachi Healthy? it’s important to note that hibachis have minimal effect on the nutritional value of whatever you put on it, for example, if a piece of pork is placed on the hibachi, that same pork is what you get after it is cooked, no more no less.
However, one way to make your hibachi foods healthy is by being picky about what is put in there to cook. Most times, Hibachi meals often come with a lot of fried rice, which can carry a lot of carbs and calories, but instead of this, opt for more proteins like beans and lentils, and instead of starchy vegetables, ask for some non-starchy ones like cabbage and spinach, or even broccoli, and then fill your plate with a lot of veggies along-side some delicious steak.
Usually, the meals in a hibachi restaurant consist of lean proteins like shrimp and chicken or Tofu, along with very fresh groups of vegetables. However, it still consists of high sodium contents, butter, and sometimes the sugary teriyaki sauce which is just extra and added fats/calories that you do not need, making sure that your chef always knows what you want in your plate or not, can boost the health status of your hibachi dinner.
Can diabetics eat hibachi?
In a simple answer, yes Diabetics can eat Hibachi because it’s just another form of cooking your food, or grilling! The recipe makes your meal and not the form of cooking, although the type of cooking helps, as grilling also has the benefit of keeping the fats contained in meats to the barest minimum.
Being Diabetic doesn’t mean you should sit at home when your husband takes the whole family to your favorite Japanese steak house, so instead of having a boring dinner and watching everyone indulge, you can ask for certain things in your meal.
You can watch the rice or skip it, then because Hibachi chefs like to use sauces like teriyaki, soy, fish, or yum yum sauce which can be a bit higher in sodium than you need, you may request a low to no butter, sugar,and sodium in your meals, and also ensure that there are a lot of veggies in your meal with the right amount of proteins needed, and you’ll be good to go.
Final thoughts
If you were too scared of trying out hibachi-styled prepared meals, you don’t have to be. As diabetics, you must be mindful of how and what you eat, however, you don’t have to miss out on every culinary adventure. So long as the environment is clean, and you pay attention to what goes into your food, then absolutely sit back and Enjoy!
