How to Make Thai Crying Tiger Beef (Suea Rong Hai) at Home

You want restaurant-quality Thai food but don’t want to spend an hour in the kitchen or hunt down impossible ingredients. This post shows you how to make Crying Tiger Beef at home with ingredients you can actually find, plus the techniques that make it taste authentic.

I learned to make this authentic Thai crying tiger beef recipe from my friend’s grandmother in Nong Khai, a small city on the Thai-Laos border. She ran a street stall for 40 years, grilling suea rong hai with char marks like tiger stripes. Her dipping sauce was so spicy it made customers’ eyes water—that’s where the name comes from. She taught me it’s not about complicated techniques. Just good beef, high heat, and a sauce that balances everything.

At a Glance

Prep Time: 15 minutes (plus 30 minutes marinating)
Cook Time: 8-10 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Difficulty: Easy
Key Ingredients: Flank steak, fish sauce, lime juice, toasted rice powder
Best For: Weekend grilling, dinner parties, anyone craving bold Thai flavors

Why You’ll Love This Crying Tiger Beef Recipe

This easy weeping tiger steak with Nam Jim Jaew sauce works because:

• Simple marinade – Just fish sauce and a touch of oil. That’s it. The beef flavor stays front and center.

• High heat grilling – You get that charred exterior and juicy interior. The char isn’t just for looks—it adds smoky bitterness that plays against the tangy sauce.

• Nam Jim Jaew sauce – This isn’t ketchup. It’s a punchy mix of lime juice, fish sauce, chili flakes, and toasted rice powder. The rice powder is the secret. It adds nuttiness and thickens the sauce just enough.

• Make-ahead friendly – The sauce tastes better after sitting for an hour. The beef marinates while you prep everything else.

• Impressive but easy – Looks like you spent hours. Takes less than one.

Ingredients You’ll Need

For the Beef:

1½ pounds flank steak or skirt steak
These cuts have enough fat to stay juicy but aren’t expensive. Flank is easier to find.

2 tablespoons fish sauce
This is your salt. It also adds depth. Don’t skip it.

1 tablespoon neutral oil
Helps the beef brown without sticking. Vegetable or canola works fine.

For the Nam Jim Jaew Sauce:

3 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes)
Fresh only. Bottled lime juice tastes like sadness.

2 tablespoons fish sauce
Yes, more fish sauce. This is Thai cooking.

1 tablespoon toasted rice powder (khao kua)
This is what makes it traditional Isaan-style suea rong hai. You can buy it at Asian markets or make it yourself (I’ll show you how).

1-2 tablespoons chili flakes
Thai chili flakes if you can find them. Regular red pepper flakes work too. Start with less if you’re not sure about heat.

1 tablespoon palm sugar or brown sugar
Balances the sour and salty. Just a touch.

2 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
Adds sharp, fresh bite.

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
For brightness.

1 tablespoon mint, chopped (optional but recommended)
Adds a cooling note that cuts through the heat.

To Serve:

Fresh vegetables – cucumber slices, cabbage wedges, long beans, Thai basil
Sticky rice or jasmine rice
Extra lime wedges

How I Make It

Step 1: Make the Toasted Rice Powder (If Needed)

If you can’t find toasted rice powder at the store, making it takes five minutes.

Put ¼ cup uncooked jasmine rice in a dry skillet. Medium heat. Shake the pan every 30 seconds. The rice will start to turn golden brown and smell nutty. This takes about 5-7 minutes. Don’t walk away—it goes from perfect to burned fast.

Once it’s golden and fragrant, pour it into a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Grind until it looks like coarse sand. Done.

Step 2: Marinate the Beef

Pat the steak dry with paper towels. Rub it all over with 2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 tablespoon oil. That’s the whole marinade.

Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. If you’re in a rush, 15 minutes works. If you have time, cover it and stick it in the fridge for up to 4 hours.

Step 3: Make the Nam Jim Jaew Sauce

Combine lime juice, fish sauce, toasted rice powder, chili flakes, and sugar in a bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Taste it. It should be sour, salty, spicy, and slightly sweet all at once.

Add the sliced shallots, cilantro, and mint. Stir. Set it aside. The flavors get better as it sits.

 

Step 4: Grill the Beef

Heat your grill or grill pan as hot as it goes. We’re talking smoking hot. For a charcoal grill, wait until the coals are white. For gas, crank it to high and let it preheat for 10 minutes.

Place the steak on the grill. Don’t touch it for 4 minutes. You want serious char marks.

Flip it. Cook another 3-4 minutes for medium-rare. The internal temperature should hit 130-135°F. If you like it more done, go to 140°F for medium. Past that and you’re getting into tough territory with these cuts.

Take it off the grill. Let it rest for 5 minutes. This isn’t optional—if you cut it right away, all the juices run out.

Step 5: Slice and Serve

Slice the beef against the grain into thin strips. This is important. Look at the direction of the muscle fibers and cut perpendicular to them. If you cut with the grain, it’ll be chewy.

Arrange the slices on a plate. Pour the Nam Jim Jaew sauce over the top or serve it on the side. Add the fresh vegetables and rice.

That’s it. You just made the best grilled Thai beef with dipping sauce.

Tips That Make a Difference

Don’t over-marinate. These cuts are thin. Too much time in an acidic marinade makes them mushy. The simple fish sauce marinade can sit for hours because it’s not acidic.

High heat is everything. If your grill isn’t hot enough, the beef steams instead of sears. You need that char.

Slice thin. Even perfect beef gets tough if you cut it into thick chunks. Thin slices against the grain are the key to tender Crying Tiger Beef.

Adjust the sauce to your taste. Want it spicier? Add more chili. Too sour? Add a bit more sugar. The beauty of homemade Thai crying tiger with toasted rice powder is that you control every element.

Make extra sauce. It keeps in the fridge for a week. You’ll want to put it on everything.

Easy Variations

Use chicken thighs instead of beef. Boneless, skinless thighs work great. Marinade and grilling time stay the same.

Try pork shoulder steaks. Slice them thin before grilling. They’re fattier and stay super juicy.

Make it with ribeye for special occasions. More expensive but incredibly tender. The sauce still cuts through the richness.

Skip the grill. Use a cast iron skillet instead. Get it smoking hot. Cook the steak the same way—don’t move it around.

Add lemongrass to the marinade. Pound a stalk and mix it with the fish sauce. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then remove the lemongrass before grilling.

Make the sauce milder. Cut the chili flakes in half. Add more mint and cilantro for freshness without the fire.

Storage and Reheating

Cooked beef keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Be honest though—it’s best eaten fresh. Reheating makes it tougher.

If you need to reheat it, do it gently. Warm slices in a skillet over medium-low heat for 1-2 minutes per side. Don’t cook it again—just warm it through.

The sauce keeps for a week in the fridge. The lime juice stays bright for about 3 days, then it starts to taste flat. If that happens, squeeze in a bit more fresh lime juice.

Uncooked marinated beef can sit in the fridge for up to 24 hours before grilling.

I don’t recommend freezing this dish. The texture of the beef changes too much.

Equipment

You don’t need much to make this step-by-step guide to crying tiger beef.

Grill or grill pan – Charcoal gives the best flavor, but gas works fine. A cast iron grill pan on the stove is my backup when it’s raining.

Meat thermometer – Takes the guesswork out. Cheap and worth it.

Sharp knife – For slicing the beef thin. A dull knife tears the meat.

Mortar and pestle or spice grinder – If you’re making your own toasted rice powder. The mortar and pestle gives you more control over the texture.

Mixing bowl – For the sauce.

That’s the whole setup.

FAQs

What does Crying Tiger Beef taste like?

Think charred, smoky beef with a tangy, spicy, slightly sweet sauce. The toasted rice powder adds a nutty undertone. It’s bold. Nothing subtle about it.

Can I make this without a grill?

Yes. A cast iron skillet works great. Heat it over high heat until it’s smoking. Cook the steak the same way—4 minutes per side without moving it. You won’t get the same smoky flavor, but the char and the sauce still deliver.

Where can I find toasted rice powder?

Asian grocery stores usually stock it in the Thai or Southeast Asian section. It’s called “khao kua” or “toasted rice powder.” If you can’t find it, the recipe above shows you how to make it in five minutes.

Why is it called Crying Tiger?

Two stories. One says the beef is so spicy it makes even a tiger cry. The other says the char marks on the meat look like tiger stripes, and the sauce is so good it makes the tiger weep with joy. I like the second one better.

Can I prep this ahead for a party?

Absolutely. Make the sauce the day before—it actually tastes better after sitting overnight. Marinate the beef the morning of your party. When guests arrive, just grill the steak. Takes 10 minutes and you look like a hero.

Final Note

The first time I made this perfect marinated grilled steak recipe at home, I burned the rice powder black. The second time, my friend tasted it and nodded. “Close enough,” she said. You don’t need to travel to Thailand to eat great Crying Tiger Beef—just good beef, high heat, and a sauce that punches you in the taste buds.

 

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