Instructions:

The title of this dish means "tiger's tears" - not because it was original 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 bareque fire. The dish is also called neua yang (which more prosaically means barbequed beef), but as the method is different from kai yang (barbequed chicken), I will keep the colloquial isan (NE Thailand) name.

Ingredients and method:

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, 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 chilis to pound up yourself, then I suggest using fresh red chilis (the effect is not quite the same, but the heat is retained as intended).

Ingredients:

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

method:

combine the ingredients the day before required for use.

Vegetables:

It is usual to serve barbequed dishes of this sort with a platter of vegetables - the Thai equivalent of cruditees.

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.