Beef Steak Quesadilla
Filipino-marinated tri-tip meets Mexican quesadilla. Soy sauce, lemon, and oyster sauce marinade on lean beef, seared hard and loaded into crispy Carb Smart tortillas with melted Mexican cheese. 84g protein in one meal.
📹 Watch Christian Make This
Macro Breakdown (Per Serving)
Filipino Bistek Meets the Quesadilla
This recipe is a cross-cultural mashup born from Christian's San Diego kitchen. The marinade is straight-up Filipino bistek tagalog — soy sauce, lemon (calamansi back in the Philippines), garlic, onions, and a touch of sweetness. Bistek is one of the most beloved Filipino home-cooked dishes, typically served over rice with caramelized onion rings on top.
But instead of plating it over rice, Christian loads the seared meat into crispy tortillas with melted cheese — turning it into a high-protein quesadilla that hits different. The marinade doubles as a dipping sauce, giving you that salty-sour-sweet punch with every bite.
It's the kind of recipe that happens naturally when you grow up Filipino in Southern California. Two food cultures collide, and the result is something that satisfies both cravings at once — and delivers 84g of protein while doing it.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs lean tri-tip, thin sliced
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1/4+1/8 cup lemon juice
- 0.5 tbsp black pepper
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 onions, thick rings
- 1/2 head garlic, minced
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 tbsp monk fruit sweetener
- Carb Smart tortillas (2 per serving)
- 70g Mexican blend cheese (per serving)
Instructions
Slice and prep. Thin slice the tri-tip against the grain. Cut onions into thick rings. Mince garlic.
Marinate. Combine meat, garlic, onions, soy sauce, lemon juice, oyster sauce, black pepper, monk fruit, and hot water in a large bowl. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes to 3 hours — longer is better.
Sear the meat. Heat a pan on high. Sear the meat in batches — don't crowd the pan. You want color, not steam. Set the seared meat aside. Add the marinade and onions to the same pan and cook down.
Adjust and combine. Taste the sauce and adjust — more soy for salt, more lemon for acid, more monk fruit for sweetness. Return the meat to the pan and toss to coat.
Build the quesadilla. Clean the pan or use a second one on medium heat. Lay a tortilla flat, add the seared meat and onions (no excess sauce), top with 70g Mexican blend cheese, and place the second tortilla on top.
Crisp and melt. Cook until the bottom tortilla is golden and crispy, then carefully flip. Use a lid to help the cheese melt faster. Cut into wedges and serve with the remaining sauce as a dipping side.
💡 Christian's Tips
- Slice tri-tip paper thin. The thinner the slice, the more surface area for the marinade and the better the sear. Partially freeze the meat for 30 minutes to make thin slicing easier.
- Don't put sauce in the quesadilla. Excess liquid makes the tortilla soggy. Keep the sauce on the side for dipping — it's way better that way.
- Carb Smart tortillas save macros. They're higher fiber, lower net carb than regular tortillas. The texture holds up well to the heavy filling.
- Batch cook the meat for meal prep. The full 4 lbs makes about 6-8 servings of meat. Store portioned in containers and build fresh quesadillas each day.
- Reduce cheese to cut fat. At 70g you get 46g fat per serving. Drop to 40g cheese to save about 12g fat and 100 calories if you're on a cut.
Full Nutrition Facts
| Nutrient | Per Serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 841 kcal |
| Protein | 84g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 80g |
| Dietary Fiber | 15g |
| Total Fat | 46g |
| Saturated Fat | 18g |
| Cholesterol | 145mg |
| Sodium | 1820mg |
| Potassium | 720mg |
| Iron | 5.6mg |
Common Questions
Can I use a different cut of beef?
Flank steak or skirt steak both work well and are similarly lean. Sirloin is another option. The key is slicing thin against the grain. Avoid fattier cuts like ribeye — they'll throw off the macro balance significantly.
Is 841 calories too much for a single meal?
Depends on your daily targets. If you're eating 2,200+ calories, this is a solid post-workout meal with 84g protein. For lower calorie days, use 1 tortilla instead of 2, reduce cheese to 40g, and you'll bring it down to about 600 calories with 70g protein.
How long does the marinated meat keep?
Cooked meat with sauce keeps 4-5 days in the fridge. Raw marinated meat should be cooked within 24 hours since the acid in the lemon juice will start breaking down the texture. Freeze raw portions for up to 3 months.
