Name: Tacu tacu with pan-seared beef strips
Prep time: 22 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 65 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 360 g cooked white rice, fully cooked, cold and refrigerated; 360 g cooked canary beans, drained, cooled and refrigerated; 130 g red onion, finely chopped; 14 g garlic, minced; 35 g ají amarillo paste; 40 ml vegetable oil, 20 ml for aromatic base, 20 ml for cake browning; 5 g salt, 3 g cakes and 2 g beef; 2 g ground cumin; 440 g boneless beef sirloin, trimmed, sliced into 1 cm strips; 15 ml vegetable oil, for beef; 2 g ground black pepper

Tacu tacu with pan-seared beef strips — complete home recipe

Yield 4 servings

Prep 22 minutes

Cook 40 minutes

Passive 3 minutes

Total 65 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Tacu tacu with pan-seared beef strips — complete home recipe

Tacu tacu brings cooked rice and cooked beans together in a seasoned pan-fried cake. The surface should be deeply browned and hold together while the centre remains tender, not dry or granular. This makes the texture of the rice and beans just as important as the seasoning.

For this practical variation the main topping is pan-seared beef strips, rather than an egg or a plain sauce. Beef served beside a browned tacu tacu is an established option, yet these exact weights and this topping combination are a functional household version, not a fixed historical formula.

Start with thoroughly cooked rice and canary beans that were cooled quickly after their earlier cooking and continuously refrigerated. The mixture should be cohesive: mash part of the beans and leave the rest whole. Shape two cakes in succession in a skillet, turning carefully to keep the crust intact.

Ingredients

Rice-and-bean cakes

360 g cooked white rice, fully cooked, cold and refrigerated
360 g cooked canary beans, drained, cooled and refrigerated
130 g red onion, finely chopped
14 g garlic, minced
35 g ají amarillo paste
40 ml vegetable oil, 20 ml for aromatic base, 20 ml for cake browning
5 g salt, 3 g cakes and 2 g beef
2 g ground cumin

Beef topping

440 g boneless beef sirloin, trimmed, sliced into 1 cm strips
15 ml vegetable oil, for beef
2 g ground black pepper

Method

Soften the aromatic base.Warm 20 ml cake oil in a deep frying pan; cook 130 g onion for 5 minutes, then 14 g garlic, 35 g ají paste and 2 g cumin for 3 minutes. Onion is soft and ají paste loses its raw bite. Allow 8 minutes for this action.
Make a cohesive cake mixture.Add 360 g cooked beans and mash half against the side of the pan; fold in 360 g cooked rice and 3 g salt. Heat together, stirring, for 5 minutes. Rice is evenly coated and a spoonful holds together when pressed. Use only rice and beans chilled promptly after cooking and kept at 4 °C or below.
Shape and brown two cakes.Heat 10 ml oil in a skillet for the first cake; spread in half the mixture. Fry 5 minutes per side, turning with a plate, then repeat with the remaining 10 ml oil and mixture, another 10 minutes. Each cake has a firm brown crust and a hot, tender middle. Allow 20 minutes for this action.
Cook the beef topping.In the now-clear skillet, heat 15 ml oil; add 440 g beef strips, 2 g salt and 2 g pepper. Sear for 7 minutes in a single layer, turning, until their centres reach 63 °C. Beef is seared and a thick strip reaches at least 63 °C before resting. Use a thermometer; 63 °C plus 3-minute rest is the whole-cut steak target, not a ground-beef standard.
Rest the seared beef.Transfer the seared beef to a clean warm plate and rest for 3 minutes before serving. Juices settle in the beef rather than flooding the plate. Rest intact beef for at least 3 minutes following the 63 °C centre reading.
Serve while the crust is crisp.Place half a cake on each serving platter and top with half the rested beef strips; divide each cake into two portions. The browned underside holds while the beef remains juicy. Allow 3 minutes for this action.

Practical

Serving, storage and substitutions

Prepare the beans and rice only from food stored safely after cooking; refrigerate within 2 hours and keep at 4 °C or below. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and eat within 3–4 days, reheating to 74 °C. The beef topping is optional only if a separate approved variation is being made; removing it changes the listed nutrition. If the mixture crumbles, mash more of the listed beans rather than adding unlisted flour.

Control points

Cakes break on turningThe mixture lacked cohesion or the crust had not formed. Mash extra beans and wait for the underside to set before turning.
Cakes become leatheryHeat was too low over a long interval. Use moderate heat to form a crust without drying the centre.

Nutrition per 1 of 4 servings (approximate)

Serving size1 of 4 servings
Calories590 kcal
Carbohydrates53 g
Protein35 g
Fat26 g
Fibre7 g
Sodium580 mg

Allergens and food safety

Rice and beans must be cooked, refrigerated promptly and handled separately from raw beef. For intact sirloin strips, check 63 °C and allow a 3-minute rest; do not use this target for minced beef. Refrigerate at 4 °C or below within 2 hours and reheat prepared leftovers to 74 °C. No major allergens are inherent to the specified ingredients; check packaged ají paste.

Closing

In the bowl or on the plate: Rice-and-bean tacu tacu browned in a pan, finished with warm beef strips.
The decisive control: Juices settle in the beef rather than flooding the plate.