Why it works: Beef and green beans work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 35 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
The recipe
4 servingIngredients
Contains: wheat, soy (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F (71°C), about 6 minutes.
Drain off excess fat, then stir in the ground ginger, minced garlic, onion powder and ground black pepper. Cook 1 minute until fragrant.
Whisk the soy sauce, honey, all-purpose flour and water in a small bowl until smooth.
Pour the sauce over the beef and stir well. Simmer over medium heat 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
Add the trimmed green beans to the skillet and toss to coat. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender-crisp, about 8 minutes.
Taste, adjust seasoning if needed, and serve hot.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Beef + green beanstop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together35 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Beef + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together17,091 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Ginger + garlictop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,402 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Beef + peppertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together18,971 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, garlic, onion, pepper, sauce, honey, green beans):
- Gingerthe original
- Thymeabout as good a flavor fit
- Rosemaryabout as good a flavor fit
- Celeryabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against beef, garlic, onion, pepper, sauce, honey, green beans. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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