Easy Grilled Crying Tiger Beef with Thai Dipping Sauce

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Grilled marinated beef served with fresh veggies and an amazing Thai dipping sauce - this Crying Tiger beef is an ultra simple classic Thai dish just packed full of the most amazing spicy, tangy, sweet and sour flavors.

While this Thai steak is amazingly tender and delicious, it's the spicy crying tiger sauce (or nam jim jaew dipping sauce) that steals the show here - it's the best part of the dish! It takes 5 minutes to make and is tangy, spicy, and in your face delicious.

The whole crying tiger recipe, while it seems like it would be complicated, is one of the easiest dishes you'll make, with the most incredible results.

Jump to:

• What is Crying Tiger?
• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredients for Crying Tiger Beef
• Step By Step Instructions
• How to Make Toasted Rice Powder
• Serving Options
• Expert Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Storage and Reheating Instructions
• More Favorite Thai Recipes
• Recipe
• 💬 Comments

What is Crying Tiger?

First off - there is no tiger in this recipe!! There is quite a debate on where the name crying tiger beef (or Suea Rong Hai for the Thai name) originated. A common theory is the name is because the dipping sauce is so hot it made the tiger cry (don't worry, the dipping sauce is NOT too hot).

Regardless of where the name came from, basically it is a Northeastern Thailand grilled beef dish served with a potent dipping sauce on the side. It is most often served with fresh sliced vegetables and sticky rice on the side.

Crying tiger sauce, or Nam Jim Jaew sauce, is a spicy sauce made of a mixture of soy sauce, fish sauce, tamarind, toasted rice powder (very important), fresh herbs, Thai chilies, sugar, and lime juice. It's got just a slightly nutty flavor from the toasted rice powder.

Crying tiger steak sometimes served as a Thai beef salad in Thai restaurants in the US, but it really should be a grilled beef dish served with vegetables and rice on the side.

Why This Recipe Works

• The marinade adds an amazing extra layer of flavor to the beef.
• The spicy Thai dipping sauce is served on the side so you can control how much you use in each bite.
• The simple sliced raw vegetables add a fresh, crisp component to an other wise umami bomb dish.
• Serving the thin strips of Thai beef with sticky rice helps to quell any heat from the sauce and adds a nice backdrop to the beef.

Ingredients for Crying Tiger Beef

The full list of ingredients and amounts is included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

It is best to use a boneless strip steak or ribeye when making crying tiger beef, but in all honesty you can use any tender boneless cut of beef (we like skirt steak too) you like and the recipe will work great. That said, I don't recommend using a tougher cut like beef brisket or short ribs.

We serve this crying tiger with cooked Thai sticky rice - you can use this sushi rice recipe to cook the sticky rice - just omit the vinegar seasoning at the end!

Fresh sliced cucumbers and lettuce is often served with this dish - but feel free to use whatever vegetables you'd like to.

For both the marinade and sauce we use soy sauce (don't use dark soy sauce) and fish sauce - both are key ingredients to the umami flavor. Oyster sauce is used in the marinade to add a sweet, umami flavor to the beef.

Any time I reference lime juice, fresh lime juice is highly recommended. The bottled juice just doesn't have the same flavor and is not as light as fresh tasting.

Tamarind concentrate (or tamarind paste) is just what it sounds like. It is easier to use than fresh tamarind or tamarind pulp. It can be potent, so we typically only use a small amount.

Toasted rice powder is basically made by toasting uncooked sticky rice (or glutinous rice) and using a mortar and pestle to grind it into a coarse powder. You can make it yourself (scroll down to the instructions to see how to make it), or you can buy it premade.

Thai chilies can be very spicy, so add more or less chilies to your dipping sauce depending on your spice preference. You can also use dried Thai chili flakes instead of fresh chilies or check out these Bird's eye chili substitutes.

You can substitute brown sugar or coconut sugar for the palm sugar if needed.

Step By Step Instructions

Combine all the marinade ingredients together and place in a large bowl or ziplock bag.

Add the steak and let marinade for 4-6 hours in the fridge. Don't marinade longer than 6 hours or the beef will start to become mushy.

Heat a grill (or cast iron skillet) over medium-high heat. Grill the beef for 3-4 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness and thickness. The recipe works best with medium rare beef at an internal temperature of 125°F and 130°F.

Let the beef rest for 5 minutes, then slice it into strips against the grain.

While the steak rests, whisk all the Thai dipping sauce (nam jim jaew) ingredients together. Whisk until the sugar dissolves and set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

Serve on lettuce pieces with Thai sticky rice, sliced cucumber and the Thai dipping sauce on the side.

How to Make Toasted Rice Powder

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a couple tablespoons of raw sticky rice (short grained rice). Cook the grains, stirring often, until they become a golden brown color.

Remove from heat and use a mortar and pestle to grind them grains into a coarse powder. Use 1 tablespoon for the dipping sauce.

Serving Options

• I highly recommended serving this dish with sticky rice on the side. That said, you can also serve it with jasmine rice, purple sticky rice, or any other rice you like.
• Any sliced fresh vegetables like cucumber, tomato, carrots or anything else you like are a great contract to the bold flavors of the beef.
• Serve with fresh herbs like cilantro, Thai basil or mint.
• If you wanted to keep this recipe ultra simple, you can skip the marinade and just serve the grilled beef with the crying tiger sauce. Try one of these simple beef recipes to serve the sauce with:
  • beef heart recipe (the sauce goes really well with this)
  • beef tongue (it also goes really well with this!!)
  • sous vide chuck roast
  • sous vide ribeye
  • sous vide beef tenderloin
  • flank steak
• While typically served as a grilled Thai steak, you can also use to make a crying tiger salad.

Expert Tips

1. Don't marinade the beef longer than 6 hours or it will start to become mushy.
2. Cooking the beef to a medium rare, or 125°F - 130°F, will give you the best results.
3. Slice the beef against the grain to help keep it tender.
4. Add more or less Thai chilies to your dipping sauce depending on your spice preference. You can also substitute serrano peppers for Thai chilies.
5. You can substitute brown sugar or coconut sugar for the palm sugar if needed.
6. Don't make the dipping sauce too far in advance as the rice powder will expand slightly making the sauce thicker (not a huge deal, it can be thinned with water or stock if needed).
7. You can also cook the beef in a cast iron skillet or griddle instead of a grill if you don't have access to a grill.
8. Substitute honey for the sugar if desired (in the sauce and marinade).

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Reheat the beef in a medium-high heat skillet until barely warm, or in the microwave in 30 seconds intervals until barely warmed.

Serve with leftover sauce at room temperature and sticky rice.

More Favorite Thai Recipes

• Thai shrimp salad
• Thai basil pork
• Pad woon sen (Thai glass noodles)
• Tom yum noodle soup
• Instant Pot pad thai

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