Small Plates: Ohjah Japanese Steakhouse’s goal to be neighborhood restaurant

DINING OUT

OHJAH JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE, 2051 N. RAINBOW BLVD. (AND THREE OTHER LOCATIONS)

Owner Zhigang Wang opened the first Ohjah Japanese Steakhouse in Pahrump in June 2010, said administrator Minjia Li. It was followed by locations at 8595 S. Decatur Blvd. and 10144 W. Flamingo Road; the Rainbow Boulevard location opened in August. “We opened the restaurant for the neighbors, for everybody,” Li said. “With a lot of Japanese restaurants, you would think you had to spend a fortune to eat there. Our goal is to be a neighborhood restaurant, so you could go any day at any time.” To that end, the restaurants offer several combination specials, such as the hibachi combination (three items plus the basics) for $28.95, the special rolls combo (three rolls) for $23.95 and the Blue Diamond dinner special (two special rolls and eight pieces of sashimi and nigiri) for $23.95. Here’s a sample of the menu:

Appetizers: Fried oysters, $6.95; agedashi tofu, $4.75; calamari tempura, $7.25.

Hibachi: Basic entree (soup, salad, vegetable and rice), $8.95; add $5.95 for chicken teriyaki, $6.75 for shrimp teppanyaki, $8.55 for filet mignon, $48.95 for Kobe beef, $6.75 for calamari or $16.95 for lobster tail teriyaki.

Signature items: Lobster roll (crab and avocado topped with lobster tail), $19.95; Sushi Pizza (spicy tuna, spicy salmon and crab on a bed of fried sushi rice), $12.95; Kani Nachos (spicy crab and avocado on wonton chips), $3.75; tuna carpaccio, $10.95; and Gyu-Ishiyaki (sliced New York steak cooked on hot rock, served with ponzu sauce and onion), $12.50.

Sushi rolls: Kraken (spicy octopus roll with spicy tuna), $10.95; Cowboys (fresh tuna, shrimp and avocado roll topped with sliced New York steak, torched), $11.50; Black Widow (soft-shell crab with cream cheese and crab salad, topped with eel, avocado, eel sauce and black tobiko eggs), $11.50.

Sashimi, nigiri and maki: $3.50 to $9; combos available.

Entrees: Pork katsu, $11.95; beef sukiyaki, $13.95; scallop teriyaki, $18.95; seafood teriyaki, $32.95; vegetable tempura, $9.95.

Hours are 3 to 11 p.m. daily. Call 702-361-8888 for Rainbow location, or visit www.OhjahSteakhouse.com.

NEW BOOKS FOR COOKS

PARMESAN BACON GOUGERES

4 strips of thick-sliced bacon

½ cup whole milk

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1¼ cups bread flour, sifted

3 large eggs

1¼ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat until crisp but not too dark. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve ¼ cup of the rendered fat. When the bacon is cool, chop to make ½ cup.

Bring the milk, ½ cup water, the butter and the reserved bacon fat to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the salt, onion powder, sugar and cayenne. Add the flour and, using a wooden spoon, stir very quickly in one direction. The flour will absorb the liquid and form a dough. Continue stirring to cook the flour (and remove its “raw” taste) and simmer off more of the moisture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the saucepan.

Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until each is incorporated into the dough, which will change from shiny to sticky as the eggs are worked in. On low speed, stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan and the bacon until just combined.

Using a small ice-cream scoop (about 2 inches in diameter), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Top each gougere with an equal amount of the remaining Parmesan.

Bake until puffed and golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.

Makes 2 dozen.

Recipe from “Donald Link Down South: Bourbon, Pork, Gulf Shrimp &Second Helpings of Everything,” with Paula Disbrowe (Clarkson Potter/Publishers; $35)

— Heidi Knapp Rinella