Dishola: Reviews by the Dish

Also known as Tiger Cry. This dish is so amazingly fabulous. No other dish Thai or otherwise will ever compare. I had to beg the stern, mother-henish restaurant Tzaress over a series of weeks to tell me her secrets to this dish. Like a dummy, I kind of forgot them. But I think it went something like this: marinate tender beef in lime and fish sauce for a very long time; grill to perfection and slice very thinly. Make sauce with lime juice, Thai chilies, ground up rice (after it has been sauteed in a dry pan), fish sauce, shallots and garlic. That rice trick is the best. Browning the rice in a dry pan gives it this unique, nutty flavor. It then soaks up all the lime juice and helps deliver more flavor to your little beef strips as you dunk them in the sauce. It is served next to the sliced beef in a little dipping dish. I think it is also served with thinly sliced shallots, some additional dried chilies and some coriander (cilantro). I get it with rice too and pour any extra sauce over the rice for more heaven. When I win the lottery, I will see if I can get this magical sorceress of a chef to commute to my house from Bangkok once a month. She will have to bring her own ingredients because I am afraid the fresher, more delicate Thai ingredients are key to this dish's success.