Seua Rawng Hai at TAC [Pics]

As I mentioned elsewhere, sêua ráwng hâi, or "Crying Tiger,"* is a sometime special offering at TAC Quick, where it is presented as part of a "combo" plate which includes papaya salad and sticky rice.





While sêua ráwng hâi is an oft-maligned dish by many of the Thai food cognoscenti, I think that a properly prepared version of this dish warrants consideration. And, IMO, TAC prepares just such a thing.

The preparation for this steak is quite straightforward: It is retrieved from a simple salty marinade and flame-grilled, before being fan-sliced for service. Thai cooks are generally predisposed to thoroughly cooking meats of any sort, but at TAC you will be asked exactly how you would like your steak cooked. The dipping sauce which accompanies the steak is nicely tangy and hot, and it contains a bit of ground roasted rice and shredded lime leaf which add both taste and textural interest. The papaya salad is up to the usu. high standards at TAC, and it includes long beans, dried shrimp, and roasted peanuts. And, also as usu., the papaya salad can be prepared as spicy or as mild as you would like.

Andy just put this dish up the other day, and I cannot give any assurances about how long it might remain.


Regards,
Erik M.

* David Thompson, who is widely considered to be the Western authority on traditional Thai food, has suggested that the name "crying tiger" derives from the spiciness of the dipping sauce which accompanies this steak. Whatever the case, I prefer the bit of folklore that my Thai friend, Jade, has shared with me. According to Jade, who recounts Thai legend, the tiger's first and favourite part of his prey to consume is the tender neck meat--the cut of meat believed to first be used for this dish--and so when the tiger has eaten all of the neck meat, he abruptly stops his feasting and begins to cry.