Xi’an Famous Foods makes its Boston debut

Sichuan peppercorns. Cardamom. Star anise. Even peppers better known for their use in Chinese medicine than in the kitchen. These ingredients, and close to thirty others, go into the secret chili sauce that David Wang, founder of Xi’an Famous Foods, still makes in small batches. Wang keeps the recipe close, but one secret is out: The fast-casual spot that specializes in cuisine from his hometown of Xi’an, a city in China’s Shaanxi Province that was once an imperial capital, is opening in Boston.

After popping up in Roxbury, a permanent restaurant soft-opens in Downtown Crossing Friday, with a grand opening coming the first week of November. Stop in for noodles, dumplings, and more — including that pepper-flecked chili oil.  

“It’s characterized by spicy and sour, and a fragrantly spicy flavor profile,” Jason Wang, the brand’s CEO and David’s son, told Boston.com of Xi’an- and Shaanxi-style cuisine. He helped his father expand Xi’an Famous Foods from its humble beginnings in a Flushing, Queens mall food court in 2005 to a brand with nearly 20 restaurants in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Now, the restaurant has made its long-awaited debut in Boston. 

“The ‘fragrantly spicy’ is quite important for the region because it means that [the dishes] look very fiery, but it’s not actually supposed to be super spicy,” Wang said. “So, it should be pretty approachable.”

“Approachability” is relative when it comes to heat. Chili peppers are measured in Scoville Heat Units. Jalapeños, for example, might reach around 8,000 Scoville Units, while the peppers imported by the restaurant from Shaanxi province clock in around 3,000.  Think less, “my mouth is burning off” and more “oh, that’s got a kick.”

Dishes like the spicy beef muscle, served with aromatics, also showcase the distinctive sensation of mala peppercorns. Some diners describe it as numbing. Wang prefers another word.     

“I like to call it ‘tingly,’ just because ‘numbing’ sounds like something at the dentist office,” he said. “Where ‘tingly’ is more enjoyable.”

The 1,700-square-foot restaurant’s menu showcases hot and cold noodle dishes, spicy and sour dumplings, and cucumber salad. One must-try, Wang said, is the restaurant’s hand-ripped noodles. “Our noodles are pulled to order right in front of you in an open kitchen,” he said. 

Liang pi noodles, also called “cold-skin noodles” owing to the smooth and chewy texture, is a Xi’an classic, served with bean sprouts, cucumber, cilantro, and seitan. The Chang’an spicy tofu custard features soft house-made tofu with pickled vegetables and herbs. Sauces for the custard, stews, and dumplings are all made in-house.

“Even our sesame oil, we make sure that it is cooked with extra spices just to give it more flavor,” Wang said. “Every stew has its own proprietary sauce blend, and the dumpling dipping sauce, and cucumber sauce. Our spice blend for the lamb. Everything is made in house. It’s actually a lot of work.”

When late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain visited the restaurant’s first location in 2007, he loved the spicy cumin lamb burger. The signature dish features sliced, wok-fried lamb, onions, and peppers in a kicking chili and longhorn pepper sauce. Like the stewed pork burger, the protein and vegetables are served in a crispy house-made flatbread. 

As the temperature outside drops, Wang recommends the lamb burger to help diners stay warm.

“Our spicy-style pork dumplings have also been very popular in the fall season,” he said. “That’s definitely something that I’m very confident in, and I really do recommend to people that want to have an approachable way into our food.”   

Nathan Tavares is a features writer and novelist who covers Boston food, restaurants, travel, and culture.