Easy Grilled Crying Tiger Beef with Thai Dipping Sauce
Crying tiger beef is a Thai dish of grilled marinated beef served with a dipping sauce packed full of spicy, tangy, sweet and sour flavors.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 123kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds beef steak strip steak or ribeye
- 2-3 cups cooked sticky rice for serving
- 1 sliced cucumber for serving
- Romaine lettuce for serving - substitute butter lettuce
Marinade:
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
Thai Dipping Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons diced green onions
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
- 1 tablespoon toasted rice powder
- 2-5 Thai chilies chopped
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar substitute coconut sugar or brown sugar
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.
- Heat a grill (or cast iron skillet) over high heat. Grill the beef for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness and thickness.4
- Let the beef rest for 5 minutes, then slice it into strips against the grain.
- While the steak rests, combine all the sauce ingredients together and set aside until ready to use.
- Serve on lettuce pieces with Thai sticky rice, sliced cucumber and the Thai dipping sauce on the side.
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.
Notes
- Don't marinade the beef longer than 6 hours or it will start to become mushy.
- Cooking the beef to a medium rare, or 125°F - 130°F, will give you the best results.
- Slice the beef against the grain to help keep it tender.
- Add more or less Thai chilies to your dipping sauce depending on your spice preference.
- You can substitute brown sugar or coconut sugar for the palm sugar if needed.
- 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).
- 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.
- Substitute honey for the sugar if desired (in the sauce and marinade).
Nutrition
Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 976mg | Potassium: 451mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1130IU | Vitamin C: 42mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1mg