More Thai Food

The title of this dish means "tiger's tears" - not because it was originally made from tiger meat, nor from other felines (as it so often does when "tiger" is used in the name of an Oriental dish).

In this case the name comes from the noise of the fat dripping from the meat into the barbecue fire. The dish is also called neua yang (which more prosaically means barbecued beef), but as the method is different from kai yang (barbecued chicken), I will keep the colloquial isan (NE Thailand) name.

Take a one pound steak, and cut it into strips diagonally across the natural grain, about half an inch wide, then cut the strips into bite sized pieces.

Marinade the meat in 3 tablespoons of fish sauce and 3 tablespoons of dark, sweet soy sauce for about an hour.

Place the meat on a fine metal mesh (typically a 1 centimeter chicken wire is used here in Thailand) over a barbeque and cook, turning the pieces occasionally, until done to your taste.

Dipping Sauce

Two sauces are usual - nam prik narok (posted recently), and the following. Note that it calls for powdered dried prik ki nu. Normal chili powder found in bottles in western stores is *much* milder. If you can't find the dried birdseye chiles to pound up yourself, then I suggest using fresh red chiles (the effect is not quite the same, but the heat is retained as intended).

1 tablespoon phom prik ki nu (powdered dried red birdseye chiles)
1 tablespoon bai pak chee (coriander/cilantro leaf)
1 tablespoon chopped spring onion (scallion/green onion)
1/4 cup fish sauce
5 tablespoons lime juice

Combine the ingredients the day before required for use.

Vegetables: It is usual to serve barbecued dishes of this sort with a platter of vegetables - the Thai equivalent of crudites. A typical mixture would include cucumber slices, basil and mint, swamp cabbage or spinach, and spring onions. However any mixture you have to hand would be fine.

Special thanks to Muoi Khuntilanont.