Tausi (Salted Black Beans) substitute

Substitutes for Tausi (Salted Black Beans) with ratios

1. 2Doenjang (Korean Soybean Paste)

   Different texture

   Use 1 ½ tsp for every 1 tbsp tausi

   Closer to tausi's character than any other paste, because doenjang is coarsely fermented soybean with visible bean pieces and a genuine funk to it.

   What changes

   That funk is the specific thing that most substitutes lose.

   Best for

   pork tausi, braises, stir-fries, steamed fish, soups

   Prep. Fry it briefly in the oil with the aromatics to take the raw edge off, then add liquid.

   It is saltier by volume than tausi, hence the smaller amount, and it is earthier and slightly more sour, so a Chinese-style dish made with it leans faintly Korean. The bean fragments help the texture but do not fully replace the soft whole beans. It will also make a clear sauce slightly cloudy and grey-brown.

2. 3Dark or Red Miso Plus Soy Sauce

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 2 tsp miso plus 1 tsp soy sauce for every 1 tbsp tausi

   The most widely available fermented-soy option, and it does cover the main job: deep salty savouriness from fermented beans.

   What changes

   Dark or red miso is much closer than white, which is sweet and mild.

   Best for

   stir-fries, braises, steamed fish, sauces where smoothness is fine

   Prep. Whisk the miso into a spoon of the pan liquid to loosen it, then stir it in off the heat or at the very end.

   Rounder, sweeter and noticeably less funky than tausi, so the dish tastes softer and less savoury in the way that matters here; the extra soy sauce is there to put some of that sharpness back. It also has no texture at all. Do not boil miso hard or it goes grainy and loses its aroma, so add it late.

3. 4Doubanjiang (Fermented Broad Bean Chilli Paste)

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 2 tsp for every 1 tbsp tausi

   A genuine fermented bean paste with real depth and funk, and a staple of the same Sichuan-adjacent cooking that uses black beans.

   What changes

   If your dish is a braise or a mapo-style stir-fry, this works well.

   Best for

   mapo tofu, braised pork, stir-fried aubergine, spicy stir-fries

   Prep. Fry in the oil with the aromatics for 30 seconds until the oil turns red, then continue with the recipe.

   It is made from broad beans and chilli, not soybeans, so it brings real heat and stains the dish red, which in a delicate steamed fish with black beans is wrong on both counts. It is also very salty. Use it where a bit of chilli belongs and avoid it where the dish should stay pale and clean.

4. 5Soy Sauce With a Little Fish Sauce

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 1 tbsp soy sauce plus ¼ tsp fish sauce for every 1 tbsp tausi

   The emergency version, built from two things almost every kitchen has.

   What changes

   It gets the salt and a reasonable amount of savoury depth into the dish, which stops it tasting empty.

   Best for

   stir-fries, quick braises, when the cupboard has nothing fermented in it

   Prep. Add with the other liquids. Reduce any other salt in the recipe accordingly.

   There is nothing bean-like about it: no funk, no chew, no dark flecks through the sauce, and the dish will taste like a plain soy stir-fry rather than a black bean one. It also adds more liquid than tausi does, so reduce the sauce a little longer. The fish sauce is doing real work here, adding a fermented pungency that soy alone lacks; a quarter teaspoon is enough and more will dominate.

5. 6Nothing Comes Close, So Lean Into the Jar

   Taste and texture differ

   Use 1 to 2 tbsp black bean garlic sauce for every serving

   The honest position for pork tausi and steamed fish with black beans, where the little soft salty beans are half the dish rather than a background seasoning.

   What changes

   No paste reproduces both the intense fermented punch and the chewy bean texture at the same time.

   Best for

   pork tausi, steamed fish with black beans, any dish where the beans are visible and intentional

   Prep. Use the jarred sauce, add half a teaspoon of rice vinegar per tablespoon to sharpen it, and finish with plenty of sliced spring onion.

   Expect a smoother, sweeter, more homogeneous dish. A splash of rice vinegar or a squeeze of lemon puts back some of the sharpness the jar has sanded off, and a generous handful of spring onion at the end gives the mouthful something to interrupt it. If the beans really matter, they keep for years in the fridge, so buy a bag next time you pass an Asian grocer.