Crying Tiger Beef

The Method for Crying Tiger Beef

Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.

1. Toast the sticky rice in a dry pan over a medium heat for 5 minutes, shaking, until it is the colour of straw.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

2. Cool, then pound to a coarse powder in a mortar.

   Mark done

3. Whisk the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind, palm sugar and chilli flakes together.

   Mark done

4. Stir in the toasted rice powder, shallots, coriander and spring onions. Set the sauce aside.

   Mark done

5. Rub the steak with the oil, salt and pepper.

   Mark done

6. Heat a griddle or charcoal grill until it smokes.

   Mark done

7. Grill 6 minutes for medium rare on a 3 cm steak, turning once.

   Mark done

8. Rest the meat 8 minutes on a warm plate.

   Mark done

9. Slice thinly across the grain.

   Mark done

10. Arrange on a plate with the nam jim jaew alongside for dipping.

    Mark done

Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Choosing rice.

Something wrong or unclear in this recipe? Report a problem with this recipe.

What Can Go Wrong

1. Toast and pound the rice. It is what the sauce is built on.
2. Rest eight minutes, then slice across the grain.
3. Make the sauce first so the flavours have time to meet.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.
• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.

Good to Know About Crying Tiger Beef

Toasted rice powder is what makes nam jim jaew taste Thai rather than merely hot and sour. Raw sticky rice toasted dry until it is the colour of straw and then pounded gives a nutty, slightly gritty body that thickens the sauce without any fat in it. It takes five minutes and nothing else does the same job.

What to Serve It With

Sticky rice · Som tam · Cold Thai beer

Storing Leftovers

The sauce keeps 3 days refrigerated. Cooked beef is good cold the next day.

Quick Answers

Crying Tiger Beef Nutrition

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Your own rating out of 5

5 stars★ 4 stars★ 3 stars★ 2 stars★ 1 star★

Your note

Save note

Private to you: notes and ratings are saved in this browser only, are never sent anywhere, and other readers cannot see them.