Why it works: Chicken and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,769 recipes. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓
Curry Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the chicken into pieces and wash it well.
Place the chicken in a stew pan and cover with water.
Boil covered until tender.
Add salt and cook a few minutes longer.
Remove the chicken and set aside, pouring the cooking liquid into a bowl.
Chop the onions.
Fry the onions in butter until brown.
Remove the onions.
Make the curry
Add the chicken back to the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes.
Sprinkle curry powder over the chicken.
Pour the reserved cooking liquid over the chicken and stir well.
Stew for 5 minutes.
Stir in flour mixed with a little water.
Stir in the beaten egg yolk.
Serve
Serve with hot boiled rice.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,769 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,814 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Provides the main protein, which becomes tender when simmered in water.
- Egg yolk
- Enriches and thickens the sauce, giving it a smoother, richer texture.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid into a smooth sauce that clings to the chicken.
- Curry powder
- Adds the spiced aroma and characteristic flavour of the curry.
- Onions
- Soften and brown in butter, adding sweetness and savoury depth to the sauce.
- Butter
- Carries the onion frying and adds richness and browned flavour.
The step that matters
Stirring in the beaten egg yolk. Egg yolk can curdle or scramble if it meets very hot liquid too quickly. Stir it in gradually off the heat or at low heat to keep the sauce smooth and creamy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, egg, flour, butter, rice):
- Asparagusfits better
- Leekfits better
- Potatofits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, egg, flour, butter, rice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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