Beijing Restaurant – bringing the Sichuan buzz to Sugar House

Mala. It’s the heart of Sichuan cooking, the intoxicating nucleus of the famed cusine. There’s no better way to appreciate it than through a bowl of mapo tofu, and in my opinion, Beijing Restaurant in Sugar House is rendering the dish as good as anyone else right now. Probably better. Hidden on the menu under the moniker of Tofu in House Special Spicy Sauce, it’s worth negotiating the Death Race 2000 layout of Sugar House reconstruction efforts to sample a bite.

Mala is the distinctive flavor profile created by combining the numbing superconductivity of Sichuan peppercorns (ma) with the fiery heat of red chilis (la). On the surface, it’s an electrifying experience that seemingly thumbs its nose at moderation. In truth, the best executed plates showcase a deft balance with each element tempering another. Mapo tofu leaves your mouth and tongue a sizzling, scorched, galvanized landscape.

Another critical component in mapo’s electrifying mala mix is spicy bean paste, aka doubanjiang. A fire engine red paste that’s predomninantly assembled from fava beans, chilis, and soy beans. The multi-year fermentation process is worth a quick Google deep-dive. The paste adds deep complexity to any dish it’s deployed in support of. Ginger, garlic, and green onion add further umami and depth, before the dish reveals another trick up its sleeve – textural contrast.

The bewitching sauce is primarily loaded with cubed with silken tofu. You’re probably familiar with the firmer firm varieties of soybean curd – but the custard-smooth silken version is a whole other ball game. It’s used in mapo tofu alongside a more modest crumbling of ground pork. The contrast of velvety tofu with meaty pork chew is a signature of mapo tofu, it’s enthralling stuff.

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Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC.  I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have written in myopic detail about the Salt Lake City  dining scene for the better part of seventeen years.

I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV.   Pause those credits, yep, that’s me! I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.    I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   What they’re saying about me: “Not inaccurate”, “I thought he was older”, “I don’t share his feelings”.

Want to know more? This is why I am the way I am.