This is the dish we always order at Thai restaurants and then wince at the bill for. Juicy, smoky steak with a spicy, tangy dip, it's easy enough that there's no reason not to make it at home instead. If you love bold steak recipes like my Beef Salpicao, this one turns simple steak into something worth going back for.
Crying Tiger Steak, also known as Weeping Tiger, pairs tender grilled steak with a sauce that's spicy, sour, and salty all at once. I first had it during a trip to Thailand, alongside Pad Krapow Gai, and it's stuck with me since. It reminds me of my favorite Filipino dish, Pork Bistek, same savory, tangy instinct, different direction entirely.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- What is Crying Tiger?
- Ingredients
- Substitutions and Additions
- How to Make Thai Crying Tiger Steak with Nam Jim Jaew
- Variations
- What to Serve with This
- How to Store Leftover
- Rose's Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- More Grilled and Marinated Favorites
- Did you try this recipe?
- Crying Tiger Steak with Nam Jim Jaew
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The flavors don't hold back. Savory marinated steak against a dipping sauce that's spicy, sour, and salty at the same time, that clash is the whole point.
- It's fast. Under 30 minutes from start to finish, so it works on a weeknight just as well as a weekend cookout.
- You get the restaurant version without the restaurant bill. Same flavor, made in your own kitchen.
- You control the heat. Add more or less chili to the sauce depending on how spicy you actually want it.
- It goes with almost anything. Rice, noodles, a simple salad, whatever you're already making, this fits in.
What is Crying Tiger?
Crying Tiger, or Weeping Tiger (Suea Rong Hai in Thai), is a grilled steak dish from Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand, served with a spicy dipping sauce called Nam Jim Jaew. The name comes from local folklore: the dish is said to be so fiery, even a tiger would cry.
It's since spread well beyond Isan and become a staple across Thai cuisine, loved for the contrast between juicy, simply grilled steak and a sauce that's spicy, sour, and salty all at once.
Ingredients
Here's what you will need:
Crying Tiger Steak Marinade
- Steak (Thick Cut Strip Loin or Rib Eye): A thick cut gives you juicy, tender results, and rib eye adds extra marbling and flavor. If you're comparing chuck eye vs ribeye, ribeye is the more tender choice for this recipe, while chuck eye can work as a more budget-friendly option. Sirloin or flank steak can also work well.
- Fish Sauce: The backbone of the sauce itself, not just the marinade. It's what gives Nam Jim Jaew its savory depth alongside the sour and spicy elements. I always reach for Three Crabs brand, it's widely available and has the right balance of funk and salt for this.
- Oyster Sauce: Provides a sweet and savory depth to the steak marinade.
Nam Jim Jaew Dipping Sauce
- Raw rice (for toasting): Use white rice or glutinous rice, toasted from raw in a dry pan (see steps below). It adds a nutty crunch to the sauce that's genuinely part of what makes this dish taste right, worth doing even though it's an extra step.
- Fish Sauce: The backbone of the sauce itself, not just the marinade. It's what gives Nam Jim Jaew its savory depth alongside the sour and spicy elements.
- Lime Juice: Brightens up the sauce with a fresh, tangy kick. Lemon juice or calamansi can be used in a pinch.
- Tamarind Paste or Sinigang Mix: Brings a sour element to the sauce, balancing out the salt and spice.
- Red Chili Pepper Flakes: Adds heat to the sauce, adjust to taste. Fresh chili works too if that's what you have.
- Sugar: Balances the salty and sour elements. Brown sugar, honey, or a sugar substitute like monk fruit or blue agave all work.
- Shallots and green onion: Sliced thin and stirred in at the end. This isn't just a garnish, it's part of the traditional flavor and texture of the sauce.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- Steak: Sirloin or flank steak both work if you don't have strip loin or rib eye on hand. Leaner cuts will cook faster, so watch your timing.
- Fish Sauce: No real substitute here, it's central to both the marinade and the sauce, but if you're in a pinch, soy sauce gets you part of the way there.
- Lime Juice: Lemon juice or calamansi both work in a pinch.
- Tamarind Paste: Sinigang mix or a splash of vinegar can stand in for the sour element.
- Sugar: Brown sugar, honey, or a sugar substitute like monk fruit or blue agave all work.
- Red Chili Pepper Flakes: Fresh chili works too if that's what you have, adjust the amount to your spice tolerance either way.
How to Make Thai Crying Tiger Steak with Nam Jim Jaew
- Marinate the Steak: In a bowl, combine fish sauce and oyster sauce. Add the steak, ensuring it’s well-coated. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Toast Rice: Toast raw rice in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown, then grind into a coarse powder.
- Prepare the Dipping Sauce: In a bowl, mix the toasted rice powder, fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind paste, red chili pepper flakes, and sugar. Stir in the sliced shallots and green onion last. Taste and adjust, it should hit spicy, sour, salty, and a little sweet all at once.
- Grill the Steak: Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the steak for 4-5 minutes per side for medium-rare or to your preferred doneness.
- Rest and Slice: Let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.
- Serve: Plate the sliced steak and serve with the Nam Jim Jeaw dipping sauce on the side.
Variations
- Chicken Crying Tiger: Swap the steak for chicken breast or thighs, marinated the same way. Grill until cooked through, chicken needs a bit more attention than steak since there's no room for pink in the middle.
- Pork Crying Tiger: Use pork tenderloin as a leaner alternative. It cooks fast, so watch it closely to avoid drying it out.
- Seafood Crying Tiger: Prawns or firm white fish fillets both work well here, lighter than the beef version but still holds up to the sauce.
- Vegetarian Crying Tiger: Grilled portobello mushrooms or firm tofu, marinated and cooked the same way. If you're using tofu, press it first so it grills instead of steams.
What to Serve with This
- Sticky Rice: The classic pairing, it soaks up all the flavor from the sauce and steak juices.
- Jasmine Rice: A fragrant, fluffy alternative that lets the bold, savory steak lead.
- Pickled Papaya or Pomelo Salad: A refreshing, tangy side that cuts through the richness of the steak.
- Grilled Vegetables: Charred bell peppers, zucchini, or eggplant round out the meal if you want more grilled flavor instead.
- Thai Tea Ice Cream: A good way to cool things down after a spicy dish.
How to Store Leftover
Steak: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in a pan over low heat, or briefly in the microwave, high heat will toughen it fast, so go slow.
Nam Jim Jaew: Store separately in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It's a fresh, uncooked sauce, so it doesn't need reheating, just give it a stir and taste it before serving, since the flavors mellow slightly as it sits.
Storing them separately also keeps the steak from sitting in the sauce and getting soggy, so if you have leftovers, it's worth the extra container.
Rose's Tips
- Toast the rice until it's deep golden, not just fragrant. A lot of recipes tell you to stop as soon as it smells nutty, but the real flavor and crunch come from pushing it further, deep golden brown, right up to the edge of burning. Watch it closely in the last minute, it goes from perfect to bitter fast.
- Make extra toasted rice powder while you're at it. Since you're already toasting and grinding a batch, doubling it means you'll have some on hand next time without starting from scratch. It keeps well in an airtight container for weeks.
- Marinate longer than 30 minutes if you have time. Thirty minutes works, but an hour or two, or even overnight, gives the fish sauce and oyster sauce more time to actually penetrate the meat instead of just sitting on the surface.
- Get the pan or grill screaming hot before the steak goes in. A hot enough surface sears the outside fast and locks in juices; a lukewarm one steams the meat instead of charring it, and you'll lose the smoky edge that makes this dish what it is.
- Taste the sauce before you commit to it. Nam Jim Jaew should hit spicy, sour, salty, and a little sweet all at once, but exact balance depends on your fish sauce, your lime, your chili. Adjust before it goes on the table, not after.
- Slice against the grain, and slice it thin. Cutting against the grain shortens the muscle fibers so each bite is easier to chew. With a dish built around bold, punchy flavors, thin slices also mean more surface area to soak up the sauce.
- Let it rest before you touch it. Five to ten minutes off the heat lets the juices redistribute instead of running out the moment you cut into it. Skipping this step is the fastest way to end up with a dry steak despite doing everything else right.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Flank, sirloin, or skirt steak all work with this marinade. Leaner cuts cook faster than rib eye or strip loin, so keep an eye on timing so they don't overcook.
Moderately spicy as written, but it's easy to adjust. Add more chili flakes for heat, or pull back if you want the sour and salty notes to lead instead.
Yes. The steak can marinate and the sauce can be made up to a day ahead. Keep them stored separately, the sauce doesn't need the steak nearby to develop flavor, and combining them early just makes the steak soggy in the fridge.
Sinigang mix or a splash of vinegar both work as a sour substitute for the tamarind specifically. That's separate from the lime juice already in the sauce, which stays in either way for brightness.
Yes. A grill pan or cast-iron skillet gets you close to the same char. Get it screaming hot before the steak goes in, same as you would on an outdoor grill, or you'll steam the meat instead of searing it.
Don't skip the rest after cooking, five to ten minutes lets the juices settle back into the meat instead of running out the moment you cut it. Slicing thin against the grain also makes a real difference in how tender each bite feels, even if the steak itself is cooked right.
More Grilled and Marinated Favorites
Did you try this recipe?
Share how it turned out in the comment box below, and if you loved it, share it on Facebook, Pinterest & Instagram.
Thank you!
Crying Tiger Steak with Nam Jim Jaew
Ingredients
Steak and Marinade
- 2 Thick-cut steak (Rib Eye or Sirloin)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- black pepper
Nam Jim Jaew Thai Dipping Sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted rice add more if you want your sauce thicker
- 1 juice of 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon sugar or sugar substitute
- 1 tablespoon minced onion or shallots optional
- chopped cilantro optional
Instructions
- Marinate the Steak: In a bowl, combine fish sauce and oyster sauce. Add the steak, ensuring it’s well-coated. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Toast Rice: Toast raw rice in a dry skillet over medium heat until golden brown, then grind into a coarse powder.
- Prepare the Dipping Sauce: Mix toasted rice, lime juice, tamarind paste, red chili pepper flakes, and sugar in a bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Grill the Steak: Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cook the steak for 4-5 minutes per side for medium-rare or to your preferred doneness.
- Rest and Slice: Let the steak rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain.
- Serve: Plate the sliced steak and serve with the Nam Jim Jeaw dipping sauce on the side.
Save This Recipe 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
