Crying Tiger Beef with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Easy and delicious Thai dish, Crying Tiger Beef. Grilled steak is topped with a spicy sauce made with roasted tomatoes, shallots, and garlic and seasoned with lime juice, fish sauce, red onions, and cilantro.
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Course: bbq, dinner, main dish
Cuisine: Asian, Thai
Keyword: cherry tomatoes, Crying Tiger Beef, grilled beef, pad thai
Marinade
- 1 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
- 1 flank steak, about 1 ⅔ pounds total This recipe works with steaks too. So if it is date night...2 nice ribeyes would be perfect!
Dipping Sauce
- 4 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1 large shallot (1 oz) halved
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes I have never used over 1 teaspoon!
- 1/2 teaspoon packed light brown sugar or palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and stems
Garnish
- 1 tbsp Glutinous or sticky rice, raw optional, but recommended
- Handful cilantro sprigs coarsely chopped, for garnish
- sliced cucumbers and tomatoes
For the beef, in a wide bowl or square pan, stir together the oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and pepper. Add the beef and turn to coat all sides.
Prepare a medium-high fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to medium on one half and medium-hot on the other half. Heat source shold be indirect. Place flank steak in center of grill. Grill about 4 minutes a side for medium rare. Remove from heat. Let meat rest about 5 minutes before slicing.
Slice beef against the grain into 1/4-1/2 inch slices then arrange on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the ground toasted rice (optional) and garnish with the cilantro. Serve with the sauce.
Sauce
Place tomatoes, unpeeled shallots, and garlic on a small sheet pan and broil, turning often until charred and squishy. This should take about 7-10 minutes.
While the beef rests, finish the sauce. Squeeze shallot and garlic out of their skins. Using a mortar and pestle or bowl and fork, smush the shallots and garlic into a rough paste. Add the tomatoes, and blend to form a chunky sauce. Don't puree the tomatoes. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, pepper flakes, sugar, and chopped cilantro. The sauce should have the consistency of a chunky salsa. Let it sit a few minutes, then taste; add more lime juice, fish sauce, and pepper flakes, if needed. The sauce should taste primarily sour and spicy and then salty with a hint of sweetness.
You could make this in a food processor, just don't overprocess the sauce! Use the pulse button only to avoid this.
Toasted Rice Powder
Place raw glutinous rice in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Swirl pan continuously until rice is golden brown and has a nutty aroma. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a mortar or small bowl. Set it aside to cool. Once cooled, grind in the mortar or in a small food processor, until rice becomes a powder.
Sprinkle this on your meat right before serving.