Benihana Garlic Butter Easy Copycat Recipe

If you have ever wondered why everything at Benihana tastes so good, the garlic butter deserves much of the credit. This Benihana Garlic Butter is a soft, savory compound butter made with just four ingredients: butter, garlic, soy sauce, and lemon juice. It is easy to mix in a blender or bowl, and it adds rich, garlicky flavor to steak, chicken, seafood, rice, and vegetables. Keep a batch in the fridge, and you can add restaurant-style flavor to a weeknight dinner in just seconds.

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At the restaurant, garlic butter works as both a flavoring and a cooking fat. It goes into Benihana Fried Rice and Hibachi Chicken, and it shows up on almost everything that comes off the teppanyaki grill.

The recipe is simple. Softened butter is mixed with pureed garlic and soy sauce, then stirred with a splash of lemon juice. The result is a spreadable, make-ahead butter that is useful far beyond copycat recipes.

What makes Benihana’s Garlic Butter so good?

Do you love Benihana’s food and wonder why the heck it is so tasty? Well, it’s Benihana Garlic Butter that probably deserves most of the credit. With its unique richness and savory backbone, this compound butter is the chain’s not-so-secret ingredient that goes on just about everything from their steak and chicken to seafood, and even the veggies. Benihana’s garlic butter has just four ingredients, and it’s easy to make, loaded with flavor, incredibly versatile, and definitely deserves a place in your fridge.

Ingredients and their roles in this recipe

To recreate the garlic butter from Benihana at home, you’ll need:

• Butter (unsalted is preferred) – the base of the recipe. Unsalted butter gives you better control over the salt level.
• Garlic – gives the butter a somewhat sharper taste and works well with the butter’s richness and the flavors of the other ingredients.
• Soy sauce – provides both salt and umami flavor.
• Lemon juice (optional) – brings out the umami and garlic flavors. Although it’s optional, it is a highly recommended addition.

How to make this garlic butter

To prepare Benihana’s Garlic Butter at home:

1. Take the butter from the fridge and place it in a large bowl. Let it soften on the counter for about 20 minutes.
2. While waiting, peel and mince the garlic.  Although you will blend it later, mincing it now will ensure you use the proper amount.
3. Add the minced garlic and soy sauce to the bowl of a blender and puree until the garlic pieces are very small.
4. Pour the soy sauce and pureed garlic into the bowl with the butter. Use a rubber spatula to scrape out any garlic pieces that stick to the sides.
5. Add the lemon juice, if using, and stir well to combine. When the garlic is evenly distributed and the butter is a uniform color, transfer it to an airtight container and keep it in the fridge.

Ways to use this garlic butter

At the restaurant, garlic butter is used both as a flavoring component and as a cooking fat. It appears in Benihana’s Japanese Fried Rice, Hibachi Chicken, and almost everything that comes off the teppanyaki grill. But don’t think you’re limited to using Garlic Butter for copycat recipes or even Asian dishes. You can do a lot more with it!

• Melt a teaspoon of garlic butter over a piece of steak or salmon fillet to add a lot of extra flavor with very little work.
• Stir the garlic butter into hot pasta, add plenty of finely shredded Parmesan cheese, and toss with a few tablespoons of pasta water for a simple, yet tasty sauce.
• Add some garlic butter to the water before you make rice or couscous for rich, buttery grains with tons of flavor.

Serving Suggestions & Pairings

• Steak or salmon: Melt a teaspoon of garlic butter over a hot fillet for a lot of extra flavor with very little work. It pairs well with our Benihana Hibachi Steak.
• Pasta: Stir the butter into hot pasta, add plenty of finely shredded Parmesan, and toss with a few tablespoons of pasta water for a quick, savory sauce.
• Rice and couscous: Add a little garlic butter to the cooking water for rich, buttery grains.
• Hibachi dishes: Use it as a cooking fat for fried rice, Hibachi Chicken, and other skillet dishes, the way the restaurant does.
• Vegetables: Toss it with hot cooked vegetables just before serving. See our Garlic Butter Green Beans for one way to do it.

Storing instructions

Refrigerator Storage: Keep Benihana’s Garlic Butter in an airtight container for up to a week in the fridge. To make it easier to use and store, shape the butter into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap.

Freezer Storage: Garlic Butter freezes well and will last up to a month in an airtight container. Thaw the butter in the fridge overnight, then stir before using.

More Benihana copycat recipes

• Benihana Fried Rice
• Benihana Ginger Dipping Sauce
• Benihana Ginger Salad Dressing
• Benihana Magic Mustard Sauce
• Benihana Steak and Mushrooms

Check out more of my easy Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food recipes to make for dinner.