Crying Tiger Steak With a Dipping Sauce That Bites Back

It is 6:20 on a Friday, the cast-iron pan is smoking a little, and the kitchen smells like a decision. Crying tiger is the steak you cook when you want someone to think you are slightly dangerous: charred, sliced thin and handed over with a bowl of sauce that has opinions. Plan on about 62 minutes, a fair chunk of it spent waiting.

A steak that arrives with its own dipping sauce is a flirt with a plan.

One popular explanation for the Thai name is that the chili heat in the sauce is enough to make a tiger cry. Whether or not that is the real origin, the idea fits. Salty fish sauce, sharp lime, a little brown sugar, fresh herbs and sliced chilies give the beef something to push against. A bowl of crying tiger like this is not subtle, and it is not trying to be.

How to make it

1. Pat the 1.5 lb flank steak dry and season both sides with salt and black pepper. Finely chop the 2 Thai chilies, thinly slice the 1 shallot, chop the 1/4 cup mint and 1/4 cup cilantro, and thinly slice the 2 green onions, about 6 minutes.
2. Rub the steak with 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes while you start the rice.
3. Rinse 1.5 cups jasmine rice, then cook with 2.25 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes. Rest 5 minutes off heat and fluff.
4. Heat a cast-iron skillet or grill pan over high heat until very hot. Sear the flank steak 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until your preferred doneness. Rest on a cutting board for 8 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, stir together 3 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp brown sugar, the chopped Thai chilies, sliced shallot, mint, cilantro, and green onions to make the nam jim jaew dipping sauce.
6. Slice the steak thinly against the grain. Serve over the jasmine rice with the spicy dipping sauce on the side.

Notes

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS, and that goes for crying tiger too. Keep the sliced steak, the sauce and the rice in separate containers. The herbs in the sauce may darken as they sit in the lime and fish sauce, which changes the look more than the taste.

Reheating steak tends to cook it further, so the leftovers are better eaten cold or just barely warmed. Cold slices over rice with a spoonful of sauce make a respectable lunch.

For doneness, USDA lists 145°F with a three-minute rest as the safe minimum for whole cuts of beef. Medium-rare lands below that, so if you want to follow the guidance to the letter, cook the steak a little further and check with a thermometer.

Skip freezing the sauce, since fresh herbs and lime may not hold up. The steak itself can be frozen, though it may not be as tender afterward.

This is the swipe you make when the safe options keep showing up and you would like something with a little bite. That is a swipe worth making.

Swaps that actually work

In crying tiger, leave the fish sauce, lime and chilies alone. They are the dipping sauce, and without all three it is just herbs in a bowl. Leave out the chilies and you get a perfectly nice sauce, in the same way that a date who barely says anything is perfectly nice.

Steak. Flank steak is the plan, but skirt steak, sirloin or hanger steak can stand in. Cooking times change with thickness, so a thermometer is worth more than a clock here.

Chilies. Thai chilies bring real heat. Serrano or jalapeño peppers are milder stand-ins, and you can cut back on the quantity if you are cooking for someone who has not been warned.

Herbs. Both mint and cilantro belong in the sauce. If you are short on one, use more of the other, and the sauce will still taste fresh.

Shallot. Thinly sliced red onion is a fair backup. It tastes a little sharper, so rinse the slices in cold water first and pat them dry.

Sugar. Brown sugar is the plan. Honey or a pinch of white sugar will work if the jar is empty, though the sauce may taste slightly different.

Rice. Jasmine is what the recipe is written for. Sticky rice is a popular pairing for grilled meat in Thai cooking, and it is worth trying if you have it.

If it goes wrong

The steak is tough. The usual cause is slicing with the grain, or cutting in before the steak has rested. Slice thinly against the grain, and if it is already cut, slice the pieces thinner still and toss them in a spoonful of the sauce.

There is no crust, and the outside looks gray. The pan was not hot enough, or the steak was damp. Pat the steak dry before it goes in, and let the pan get very hot. If the steak is already gray, put it back in a screaming-hot pan for a short sear, and rest it again.

The sauce is too hot. The dish is named for it, but a sauce that has you reaching for water is allowed to be dialed back. Add a squeeze more lime and a pinch more brown sugar, and serve extra rice. If it makes you cry, that is the name, not a bug.

The smoke alarm is singing. High heat and a little oil make smoke. Switch on the vent, open a window and keep the pan moving, then fan the alarm with a dish towel rather than pulling the battery.

What to serve with it

The default is a mound of steaming jasmine rice, which catches the sauce and calms the heat. The better version of the default adds something cold and crunchy, such as sliced cucumber, a few lettuce leaves or wedges of raw cabbage, so you can scoop sauce and cool down with the same bite.

For the thing in the fridge that lifts it, reach for extra lime wedges and a handful of torn herbs. A last squeeze over the sliced beef wakes everything up.

Crying tiger leftovers work as a lunch the next day. Slice cold steak thin over rice, add a spoonful of sauce and a few herb leaves, and you have a bowl that tastes planned.

Why this one earns its place

Because it is a dish for impressing someone, and it looks more difficult than it is. You rub a steak, sear it and stir a sauce, and then the table does the rest. Crying tiger rewards a hot pan and a sharp knife, and gives you a plate with some personality. Swipe it into your week and the agent shops the steak, the limes and the herbs, so you can concentrate on staying calm when someone asks for the recipe.

For another bright, herb-heavy Thai plate, try chicken larb. If you want a steak dinner with a different kind of smoke, carne asada is the next stop. And for a spicy stir-fry over rice, pad krapow moo keeps the Thai theme going.

More like this: all Thai recipes in Crave Corner.