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Flank Steak Crying Tiger and Larb on a Tao Burner. Summertime Thai cooking at it's best |
We love the flavor of flank steak, oddly one of the least expensive cuts. On a 900 lb black angus steer, you'll be lucky to get just two decent flank steaks, yet you can find this rare cut in good butcher shops for a price lower than more common steaks. Some people say flank is tougher, thus the lower price. We think flank offers the most delicious flavor, and it's a perfect match for spicy Thai food.
Flank is the perfect choice for the Tao Burner. We had fun cooking two flanks over just a dozen hot briquets. After the meat was cooked we served it two ways: with a simple home-made spicy "Crying Tiger Sauce" and sticky rice, and as Larb.
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To get the best flavor, cook your meat over charcoal. Although we like flank steak best, there are other cuts that work great such as those with a thick ring of fat. As the fat drips onto your charcoal, you'll hear pops, and see fire rising up (this where the name crying tiger comes from).
First Recipe: Crying Tiger Beef, "Seua Rong Hai"
Ingredients / Beef & Marinade
1 flank steak (usually weighs about 1 lb or a bit more)
2 tablespoons of thin soy sauce
Ingredients / Dipping Sauce
1/2 teaspoon corriander seeds
4 cloves garlic
15 fresh Thai chiles
5 tablespoons lime juice
5-7 tablespoons fish sauce
1-2 tablespoons sugar
Method
Coat your steak in the thin soy sauce and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Some chefs like to add a bit of fish sauce to this, but we like to use just soy sauce. Barbeque your steak over charcoal.
To make the crying tiger dipping sauce, first pound the corriander seeds in a mortar and pestle until it becomes powder. Add garlic and chilli pound until roughly smooth then stir in lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Stir until blend. Adjust the taste to your flavor. Serve this dipping sauce on the side with fresh cucumber, green beans etc and sticky rice. |
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Second recipe: "Beef Larb"
Ingredients / Beef & Marinade
1 flank steak (usually weighs about 1 lb or a bit more)
2 tablespoons of thin soy sauce
Ingredients / Larb
2 tablespoons sliced shallot
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onion
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons roasted rice powder (khao koor--see below)
2 tablespoons coarse ground Thai chile (be sure to use real Thai ground chile)
3 tablespoons lime juice
2-3 tablespoons fish sauce
Method
Coat your steak in the thin soy sauce and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. Some chefs like to add a bit of fish sauce to this, but we like to use just soy sauce. Barbeque your steak over charcoal.
Make your khao koor: Heat a medium sized wok or skillet at medium/high, and add a couple of tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. Keep in movement until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a spice mill, or a mortar and pestle, or a pepper mill or a good clean coffee grinder (all of these work well but keep in mind that a coffee grinder tends to grind too fine--the powder should retain some "texture").
Put your cooked beef into a mixing bowl. Add the larb ingredients except the mint leaf, and mix well. Taste and season as desired. You might want more or less ground chile and/or fish sauce, etc. Serve with fresh green beans, and freshly-steamed sticky rice (or if you prefer you can use Thai jasmine rice). Serve with mint leaves on the side, to be eaten with the beef.
The usual way to eat this is to get a small ball of sticky rice in the fingers and use it to pick up a little lawb, then eat it with the raw veggies. You can also use a fork and spoon as a lot of Thais do. |
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| You might also like our recipes for: Larb Gai (chicken), and Kaeng Sai Mai Rong Hai (Thai curry without tears). |
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| Special Feature: Crying Tiger Beef Made By Street Vendor in Kanchanaburi Thailand. Here we take you back to the streets of Thailand for a look at Crying Tiger prepared on the sidewalk using a Tao charcoal burner, and fatty beef. |
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