Step 1

Soak the raw beans for overnight, adding a tablespoon of salt. Change the water and boil until soft (cooking time here will depend on the type of bean and cooking pot used, usually 1 to 2 hours).

Step 2

Set soaked beans aside to cool.

Step 3

Finely chop the onion, tomato and parsley for the tacu tacu.

Step 4

Measure the ají amarillo chili pepper and garlic paste.

Step 5

Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add the onion and garlic. Sautée the ingredients for 2 minutes.

Step 6

Add the oregano

Step 7

Add tomato and ají amarillo chili pepper paste to sautée for another 3 minutes or until cooked.

Step 8

Turn off the heat, add the cooked beans, crushing them lightly, and mix well.

Step 9

Add the rice, mix well. Leave the mixture to sit for at least 15 minutes for the ingredients to soak into the rice well (this is very important in order to achieve the right texture!).

Step 10

Set aside the mixture, and for each individual serving, return about 2 cups of the mixture to a hot skillet with ½ a tablespoon of olive and lightly fry.

Step 11

Make sure the mixture achieves a compact texture as you can see in the photo.

Step 12

Prepare the sarsa criolla by mixing the jullienned red onion, finely chopped limo chili pepper, parsley, olive oil, lime juice and salt. Serve the tacu tacu, topped with a fried egg (or steak, chicken, fish fillet or any other topping of your choice), a fried plantain, and the sarsa criolla onion relish. Enjoy your wonderful tacu tacu!