Cooking in
Trail · the Kootenays
Thai · Isaan
Nam Tok — Waterfall Beef / น้ำตก
Nam tok (waterfall) is larb's grilled-beef cousin — where larb uses minced cooked meat, nam tok uses sliced grilled beef (typically a whole steak: ribeye, sirloin, or the Thai preference for skirt/flank) dressed with the same larb dressing components. The 'waterfall' name refers to the juices running off the grilling meat. The beef should be grilled over charcoal to medium-rare — the char from the grill and the pink interior are both essential. The warm, rested slices are dressed immediately with the lime-fish sauce-dried chilli dressing and khao khua. Shallot rings and the same herb assembly as larb complete the dish.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Six not yet within reach.
How the 6 are reached
- Not yet within reach
- 6 · beef steak, palm sugar, dried chilli flakes, khao khua, fresh mint, sawtooth coriander or fresh coriander
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
600 g
beef steak
skirt, flank, ribeye, or sirloin — whole steak
Not yet within reach of Trail · each reach is counted
For the dressing
45 ml
lime juice
freshly squeezed
Your own market
30 ml
fish sauce
Your own market
1 tsp
palm sugar
shaved or grated
Origin · IndonesiaNot yet within reach of Trail · each reach is counted
1–2 tsp
dried chilli flakes
not fresh chilli
Not yet within reach of Trail · each reach is counted
2 tbsp
khao khua
toasted rice powder
Not yet within reach of Trail · each reach is counted
4
shallots
sliced into thin rings
Your own market
Herbs
1 small bunch
fresh mint
leaves picked
Origin · New ZealandNot yet within reach of Trail · each reach is counted
1 small bunch
sawtooth coriander or fresh coriander
roughly chopped
Not yet within reach of Trail · each reach is counted
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Trail →II
The Method
1
Prepare a charcoal grill and bring it to high heat, then pat the steak dry so the surface sears immediately rather than steaming and losing colour. Grill directly over the coals, turning once, until the exterior carries a pronounced char and the internal temperature reaches 55–58 °C. The surface should be deeply coloured and the juices visibly beading at the surface — this is the waterfall the dish is named for.
2
Remove the steak from the grill and rest it uncovered for 5 minutes so the juices that have been driven toward the centre by the heat redistribute evenly through the meat; cutting now would lose them to the board rather than to the dressing. Leave it uncovered rather than tented, so the crust does not steam soft.
3
While the steak rests, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar, and dried chilli flakes in a bowl, stirring until the palm sugar dissolves so its sweetness is evenly present in every mouthful rather than pooled at the bottom. Taste the dressing: it should read sharp, salty, and warm with chilli in that order; adjust lime or fish sauce if the balance is off.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
4
Slice the rested steak thin against the grain so each piece is tender to the bite rather than pulling, and do it immediately so the slices are still warm to the touch — not at room temperature. Slices left to cool on the board will no longer carry enough heat to open the dressing and wake the aromatics.
5
Transfer the warm slices directly into the dressing, add the shallot rings and khao khua, and toss immediately so the residual heat of the meat briefly softens the shallots and blooms the toasted rice powder, releasing that characteristic smoky, nutty fragrance. The combined smell at this moment should be simultaneously smoky, sour, and herbaceous — neither raw dressing nor plain grilled beef alone.
From the canon — Khao khua (toasted rice powder) is made by dry-toasting uncooked raw glutinous rice in a dry wok over medium heat until golden-tan and nutty, then grinding t… Khao Khua — Toasted Rice Powder / ข้าวคั่ว →
6
Add the mint and sawtooth or fresh coriander and toss once more, working quickly so the herbs meet the warm meat without wilting in it. Plate and serve at once — the herbs should stand fresh and upright on the dish.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Well-marbled ribeye grilled over premium hardwood charcoal; khao khua made to order from uncooked jasmine rice; hand-squeezed lime from fruit at full ripeness.
02
Estate — Skirt or flank steak from a known butcher, grilled over good-quality charcoal; khao khua prepared the same day; fresh lime juice.
03
Market — Sirloin or flank from a reliable supermarket counter; charcoal grill; lime juice squeezed to order; commercial khao khua.
04
House — Any grilling steak cooked on a cast-iron griddle at high heat to achieve maximum char; all dressing components from standard stock; acceptable but the smoke character is diminished.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The grilling surface shows a deep, dark char and beads of juice are visible running from the meat — the waterfall effect that names the dish.
◇Touch. After the 5-minute rest, the steak yields slightly under finger pressure, consistent with a medium-rare interior at 55–58 °C.
◇Touch. The slices, when transferred to the dressing, are still distinctly warm — not merely tepid.
◇Smell. Once the warm slices meet the dressing, the combined aroma is smoky, sour, and herbal simultaneously — the signal that dressing integration has begun.
◇Sight. At plating, the herb leaves stand upright and fresh; any wilting indicates the dish has been held too long and must be served immediately.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies on the charcoal grill: the steak must reach a pronounced exterior char while remaining medium-rare within, so that pink, smoky juices — not dry fibres — meet the acid dressing the moment slicing begins.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
From New York
Nothing from New York holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
Genmaicha — Yamamotoyama Genmaicha Green Tea with Roasted Rice
Yamamotoyama · Uji
Not yet stocked in New York
Tea
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen