Thai Crying Tiger Steak with Jeaw dipping sauce

This is one of the most famous grilled beef dish in Thailand, called Crying Tiger because the chilies in the sauce made a tiger weep…, at least this is one of the stories behind the name of this dish.

The beef

Firstly, sear the steak. Although some recipes recommend to marinate the beef before searing, this is not necessary. The Nam Jim Jaew, or Crying Tiger dipping sauce is sufficiently flavorful. For a perfectly grilled beef, check out my recipe for Reverse Seared Tomahawk steak here.

Instead of Tomahawk steak, you could also use a good quality sirloin steak for this recipe.

The sauce

Toasted rice powder is the key ingredient for the Nam Jim Jeaw. You could get it from Asian stores, but I encourage you to make it yourself, as it tastes so much better.

To make toasted rice powder (make extra to store for another time): Put 2 to 3 tablespoons of raw glutinous rice in a frying pan. Put over medium heat and keep shaking/swirling the pan until the rice grains evenly turn golden brown and fragrant. It will take a few minutes. Let cool and grind to a fine powder with a coffee grinder or blender (like Magic Bullet). It’s now ready to use in the recipe. Store any extra powder in an airtight container, but it’s best to use it within 2 weeks.

Here’s the recipe for Nam Jim Jeaw sauce which goes well with any grilled meat or seafood.

• 1-1/2 to 2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon tamarind juice
• 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoon palm sugar or regular sugar
• 2 tablespoon shallots, finely sliced
• 2 teaspoons chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon toasted rice powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander, finely chopped

Mixe all ingredients together except for the coriander, which should be added last, just before serving.

Serve the seared sliced Crying Tiger steak with the Jeaw dipping sauce, cooked sticky rice and assorted fresh herbs and a few slices of fresh cabbage.

It’s one of my favorite Thai dishes and I hope that you will enjoy it.

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