crying tiger steak

Suea rong hai · เสือร้องไห้

Crying tiger is Isaan-style grilled steak: beef marinated in a pounded garlic-pepper paste, charred over high heat, sliced thin, and dragged through jaew, a punchy lime, fish sauce and toasted rice dipping sauce. Serve it with hot rice, crunchy vegetables and a pile of fresh herbs, and let everyone dip their own.

The secret is time. Marinate for a few hours at minimum, and overnight if you can. Then get your grill as hot as it goes so the outside chars while the inside stays juicy and pink. I hope you guys really like it!!

Serves 4 · Prep 40 min · Cook 15 min · Total 1 hr 15 min, plus at least 3 hrs marinating

ingredients

✦ for the steak and marinade

1 1/2 lb (700 g) flank, sirloin or ribeye steak, about 1 inch thick

6 cloves garlic (about 20 g)

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 tbsp Golden Mountain seasoning sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp Thai red curry paste

1 tbsp (15 g) palm sugar, finely chopped

2 tsp fish sauce

✦ for the jaew dipping sauce

1/3 cup (80 ml) fish sauce

1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lime juice (3 to 4 limes)

2 tbsp tamarind juice, strained

1 tbsp (15 g) palm sugar, finely chopped

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp toasted rice powder

1 tbsp Thai chili flakes, or to taste

2 tbsp thinly sliced shallot

1 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tbsp chopped culantro (sawtooth herb)

1 tbsp thinly sliced spring onion

✦ to serve

Hot steamed jasmine rice, for 4

1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 large handful of herbs: cilantro, mint and culantro

Cucumber, cabbage and green beans, cut for dipping

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Make the marinade. Pound the garlic and peppercorns in a mortar to a fine, sticky paste with no big garlic pieces left. Stir in the Golden Mountain sauce, oyster sauce, red curry paste, palm sugar and fish sauce.

  2. Marinate the steak. Rub the paste all over the steak in a zip-top bag or dish until there are no dry spots. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight for the best flavor.

  3. Make the jaew. Stir the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind juice, palm sugar and water until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the toasted rice powder, chili flakes, shallot, cilantro, culantro and spring onion. Taste: it should be salty, sour, a little sweet and spicy all at once. Let it sit while you cook so the rice powder softens.

  4. heat the grill. Take the steak out of the fridge about 20 minutes before cooking. Light the charcoal until the coals are glowing with white ash, or heat a grill pan until it's lightly smoking. Wipe the extra marinade off the steak so it chars instead of burning.

  5. Prep the sides. While the grill heats, slice the bell pepper, pick the herbs, cut the dipping vegetables and make sure the rice is cooking.

  6. Grill the steak. Grill over high heat for about 4 to 5 minutes per side, turning once or twice, until deeply charred outside. For medium-rare, take it off at 130 to 135°F (54 to 57°C). Thicker cuts need a few minutes longer Rest. Move the steak to a board and let it rest for 5 minutes so the juices settle.

  7. slice the steak thinly against the grain and fan it out on a platter. Toss the bell pepper with the herbs for a quick, crunchy side.

  8. Serve. Bring it all to the table: steak, jaew for dipping, hot rice, the vegetables and the pepper-herb salad.

✦ tips

Make ahead. Marinate the steak and make the jaew the night before. Cook day is then just grilling and slicing!

Slice against the grain. Look for the lines running through the meat and cut across them. Thin slices across the grain keep flank steak tender

Grill pan smoke. The marinade smokes in a hot pan, so turn on the fan, open a window, and cook in batches

Toasted rice powder. To make your own, toast raw sticky rice in a dry pan until deep golden, then grind it!

✦ swaps

No Golden Mountain sauce: use Maggi seasoning or light soy sauce

No palm sugar: use light brown sugar

No tamarind pulp: use tamarind concentrate thinned with a little water

No culantro: use extra cilantro

Skirt steak works too. It's thinner, so cook it for less time!