Crying Tiger Grilled Sirloin with Nam Jim Jaew

Steps

1. Step 1

   In a bowl or zip-top bag, stir together the fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, palm sugar, grated garlic, black pepper and oil until the sugar dissolves. Add the sirloin and turn to coat. Let it marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate up to 8 hours.

   30 min, hands-off

   • 1 1/2 lb sirloin steak, about 1 1/4 inches thick
   • 2 tbsp fish sauce
   • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
   • 1 tbsp soy sauce
   • 1 tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
   • 3 cloves garlic
   • 1 tsp black pepper
   • 1 tbsp neutral oil
2. Step 2

   Make the toasted rice powder: put the raw rice in a dry skillet over medium heat and toast, shaking the pan often, until the grains are deep golden brown and smell nutty, 5 to 8 minutes. Tip onto a plate to cool, then grind to a coarse sand texture in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.

   10 min

   • 2 tbsp jasmine or other long-grain raw rice
3. Step 3

   Make the sauce: in a small bowl, whisk the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind concentrate and palm sugar until the sugar fully dissolves. Stir in the chili flakes, shallot and 2 tablespoons of the toasted rice powder. Taste — it should be sharply sour, salty and a little sweet; add a squeeze more lime or a pinch more sugar as needed. Set aside and stir in the cilantro and green onion just before serving.

   5 min

   • 3 tbsp fish sauce
   • 3 tbsp lime juice
   • 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate
   • 2 tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
   • 1 tbsp Thai roasted chili flakes (prik bon)
   • 2 tbsp shallot
   • 2 tbsp cilantro
   • 2 tbsp green onion
4. Step 4

   Heat a grill to high (you should be able to hold your hand 3 inches above the grate for only 2 seconds). Scrape the grates clean and oil them. Lift the steak from the marinade and let the excess drip off.

   10 min

5. Step 5

   Grill the steak, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes per side for rare, turning once, until well charred outside. An instant-read thermometer in the center should read 120°F for rare or 128°F for medium-rare. If the outside chars before the inside is ready, move it to a cooler part of the grill.

   8 min

6. Step 6

   Move the steak to a board and let it rest for 10 minutes — don't skip this, or the juices run out.

   10 min, hands-off

7. Step 7

   Slice the steak across the grain into thin strips and fan them out on a platter. Scatter over the remaining toasted rice powder, add cilantro sprigs and cucumber, and serve with the nam jim jaew for dipping and jasmine rice alongside.

   5 min

   • cilantro sprigs, cucumber slices and steamed jasmine rice

Where it’s from

Written by AI from an idea

Version 1, saved Oct 5, 2026