Instant Pot Weeping Tiger Beef

Instant Pot Weeping Tiger Beef–ground beef meatballs drizzled with a sweet chili sauce and served alongside stir fried cabbage, bell peppers and snow peas.

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Instant Pot Weeping Tiger Beef

I came across a recipe for weeping tiger beef and had to know what the heck that meant! The article said, “Why does the tiger weep? According to myth, two potential reasons: the first, the ancient Thai thought tigers had emotions like humans, and that they were upset for leaving so much cow uneaten in the fields. (I guess you had to be there.) The second reason? When meat was cut thin like tiger skin, the fat rolled off like tears when grilled. Pick the legend you prefer, and pick this meal, which will make you weep with delight at the amazing flavor and tender texture of these meatballs. Weeping Tiger, Delicious Dinner.”

These meatballs are super tasty and can be made with only 4 ingredients: beef, saltine crackers, seasoned salt and pepper…easy easy! Then the sauce that goes on top is a sweet and savory sauce that brings the meatballs to a whole new level. If you’d like you can stir fry up some cabbage and other vegetables to make this a healthy, one-pot meal. It can all be made in your Instant Pot and is a perfect spring or summer dinner.

Ingredients/Substitution Ideas

• Broth–I used water and Better than Bouillon Beef Base
• Lean ground beef–I used 93/7. You can also use half ground beef and half ground pork.
• Saltine crackers
• Seasoned salt–I used Lawry’s brand
• Pepper
• Thai-style sweet chili sauce–look for it in the Asian foods section of the grocery store
• Lime juice
• Low sodium soy sauce–or Tamari
• Sesame oil
• Cabbage–I used green cabbage
• Red bell pepper–or another color of bell pepper
• Bag of frozen snow peas or sugar snap peas–you can also use fresh

Steps

Add broth into Instant Pot.

In a bowl add the ground beef, crushed crackers, seasoned salt and pepper. Use hands to mix.

Form into 7 or 8 meatballs and place into Instant Pot.

Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 5 minutes. When time is up move valve to venting and remove the lid. 

In a small bowl make the sauce by stirring together sweet chili sauce, lime juice and 2 Tbsp of the soy sauce. Set aside.

Move meatballs onto a plate. Dump the broth out of the Instant Pot and wipe it out with a paper towel. It doesn’t have to be completely clean. 

Turn Instant Pot to saute setting “normal” setting. When it has heated up add in the sesame oil, cabbage, bell pepper and snow peas and toss for about 4-5 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot. 

Serve the vegetables with the meatballs on top and drizzle the sauce over the top of the meatballs.

Notes/Tips

• This was an all in one pot meal for use but if you’d like you can serve with a side of rice or fried rice.
• I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
• This recipe can be gluten-free if you use gluten free soy sauce and gluten free crackers. This recipe is dairy free.
• You can double the meatball ingredients for double the meat. Don’t worry about doubling the sauce because there is just enough sauce for double the amount of meat.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Other recipes you can make with the other half of the head of cabbage are Instant Pot Amish Cabbage And Potato Casserole and Cabbage, Potatoes And Sausage.

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More Instant Pot Healthy Meals…

Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for. 

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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.