If you've got leftover beans and rice, then you'll love this easy Peruvian Beans and Rice dish called Tacu Tacu. You end up with a thick pancake with a golden and crispy outside and a soft, savoury and delicious inside. Topped with a fried egg, pickled onion, and cilantro, it's a winner every time.
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Tell Me More About Tacu Tacu
We traveled to Peru around 7 years ago and fell in love with the country, the people, and the food. And one of my favourite things to do is recreate food in my home country, inspired by dishes I've eaten from around the world.
This specific rice dish traditionally uses local beans, leftover rice, and a paste called aji Amarillo - one of my favourite taste memories from our time traveling there. It's a yellow sweet pepper paste that is so unique to Peru. However, in this recipe, I've provided a few substitutes so you can enjoy the concept of a Tacu Tacu even if you're unable to find the chilli paste.
This rice and bean dish uses leftovers and is then fried into a pancake or oval log. Served with an egg, salsa of some sort, or sometimes a stew, it's a humble dish that is full of flavour. I hope you love it!
Disclaimer: I am not Peruvian. This recipe has been developed through research and recipe testing to create a dish that is accessible to people all over the world. It's heavily inspired by Tacu Tacu but is by no means an authentic, classic recipe.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Leftover rice: Any long grain cooked rice is great.
Beans: traditionally, tacu tacu uses canary beans also known as mayocoba or peruano beans, however, it works with an array of beans from black beans to chickpeas. I'm using borlotti beans as I love the flavour and size but here are some borlotti bean substitutes if you don't have them!
Chorizo: this is to add extra flavour. Feel free to omit if you don't want it!
Garlic: fresh garlic is always best!
Chili paste: as I mentioned earlier, traditional recipes use aji Amarillo. So if you have that, use it! If not, here are some options for you that will create a different flavour profile but give you the same outcome physically; chipotle paste, harissa paste, gochujang.
Toppings: we're doing a fried egg and cilantro as well as finely sliced red onion that we've just left sitting in a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar for about 10 minutes to sweeten the flavour.
The full list of ingredients and measurements is at the bottom of this blog, just scroll down to find the recipe card!
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: In a large bowl, combine leftover rice, cooked beans and their juice, finely chopped chorizo, minced garlic, chilli paste, a big pinch of flaky salt and grinding of black pepper.
Step 2: Using your hands, mash up the beans and rice until around 50% of the beans are mashed and the whole mixture is combined.
Step 3: Place a small frying pan/skillet on medium heat. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once hot, add in half the rice and beans mixture and flatten into a pancake shape using the back of a spoon. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then toss the rice and beans to crisp up everything. Fry for a total of 10 minutes.
Step 4: In an ideal world, your tacu tacu will stay in a pancake form, but there's a high possibility that the rice and beans don't stick together. But, let's stay positive. Place a plate on top of your frying pan, and carefully flip the pan so that the tacu tacu falls on the plate in pancake form. Top with a fried egg, pickled red onion, and fresh cilantro/coriander. Repeat for the other tacu tacu or use another small pan to make it! Enjoy!
FAQs
Yes for sure!
Absolutely, your best way of doing this is placing the mixture into the fridge for 2 hours. Then forming the mixture into 3-inch diameter patties, and then frying the patties in non-stick pans.
For sure, you can use any type of bean or legume you'd like!
If you tried this Peruvian Rice and Beans (Tacu Tacu) or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Easy Peruvian Beans and Rice (Tacu Tacu)
Ingredients
- 200 g leftover cooked rice
- 250 g cooked borlotti beans with around 2 tablespoon of the bean juice
- 75 g chorizo finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ tablespoon chilli paste aji amarillo (authentic) or chipotle paste, gochujang, or harissa for a different flavour/vibe.
For the toppings
- ½ red onion finely sliced and pickled in 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar for 10 minutes
- 10 g cilantro
- 2 fried eggs
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine 200g leftover rice, 250g cooked beans and their juice, 75g finely chopped chorizo, 1 minced garlic, ½ tablespoon chilli paste, a big pinch of flaky salt and grinding of black pepper.
- Using your hands, mash up the beans and rice until around 50% of the beans are mashed and the whole mixture is combined.
- Place a small frying pan/skillet on medium heat. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once hot, add in half the rice and beans mixture and flatten into a pancake shape using the back of a spoon. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then toss the rice and beans to crisp up everything. Fry for a total of 10 minutes.
- In an ideal world, your tacu tacu will stay in a pancake form, but there's a high possibility that the rice and beans don't stick together and become more of a fried rice situation. But, let's stay positive. Once the tacu tacu is cooked, place a flipped plate on top of your frying pan, and carefully flip the pan so that the tacu tacu falls on the plate in pancake form. Top with a fried egg, pickled red onion, and fresh cilantro/coriander. Repeat for the other tacu tacu or use another small pan to make both of them simultaneously! Enjoy!
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