A pungent chifa stir-fry built on tausí — fermented salted black soybeans — tossed with fish or pork, ginger, garlic, scallion and soy in a hot wok. The black beans are mashed to release their salty, funky depth, coating the meat in a dark, savory glaze. Bright, sharp and unmistakably aromatic, it is one of the most assertively flavored dishes on a chifa menu. Bitter melon or other greens are a frequent partner.
Tausí is the Peruvian-chifa name for douchi, the fermented black soybean that Cantonese immigrants brought into Peru's kitchens. As one of the defining seasonings of chifa, it is used above all to flavor stir-fried fish, and also pork, seafood and vegetables such as bitter melon. The dish is a direct transplant of the Cantonese black-bean stir-fry idiom, retaining the technique while taking the ingredient's Peruvian name.
The black beans hit first — salty, fermented, almost cheesy — then ginger and garlic cut through with heat and bite. Fish stays tender and flaky under the dark sauce; pork turns silky. Sharp, savory and deeply aromatic, it lingers on the palate and begs for white rice.
Rinsing the beans lightly tempers their salt; mashing some of them releases the fermented aroma into the oil so it carries through the dish. A blazing wok and quick tossing keep fish from breaking and meat from stewing, while a touch of cornstarch slurry binds the dark sauce to a glaze. Garlic and ginger go into hot oil first to bloom before the beans and meat follow.
Variations
Made with fish (pescado con tausí), pork, shrimp or chicken; bitter melon is a classic vegetable pairing, and some versions add fermented bean with chili for extra heat. Plenty of white rice on the side is standard.
On the Palate
Where Tausí sits in the Peruvian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 25 min active + 5 min waiting
- 13 min
Rinse the fermented black beans lightly and mash about half of them.
Watch outRinse the fermented black beans lightly and mash about half — the rinse tempers their salt, and the mashed half releases the fermented aroma into the oil.
- 25 min
Cut fish or pork into bite-sized pieces and season with a little soy sauce.
- 32 min
Heat a wok until smoking and add oil, then garlic and ginger to bloom.
- 42 min
Add the black beans and stir until fragrant.
- 55 min
Add the fish or pork and stir-fry hard over high heat.
Watch outStir-fry hard over a smoking-hot wok — blazing heat and quick tossing keep the fish from breaking and the meat from stewing.
- 63 min
Pour in soy sauce and a little stock or water, tossing to coat.
- 73 min
Thicken with a cornstarch slurry to a glossy dark sauce and fold in scallion.
- 82 min
Serve immediately with plenty of white rice.
