Why it works: Mung bean and pepper work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and 43 recipes mention both. Both carry methyleugenol, which smells clove, spice. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Contains: shellfish (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.
Rinse the mung beans and put them in a large pot with the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 25 minutes until the beans are nearly tender.
While the beans cook, heat the olive oil in a separate large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
Season the pork cubes with salt and black pepper, add them to the skillet, and brown on all sides for about 5 minutes. Cook until the thickest piece reaches at least 145°F (63°C), then rest 3 minutes.
Add the diced tomato and chicken broth to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits. Pour the pork mixture into the pot with the beans and simmer together for 20 minutes.
Add the peeled and deveined prawns and cook 4 minutes, until opaque and the flesh reaches 145°F (63°C). Add more broth if the soup is too thick.
Stir in the spinach leaves and cook 2 minutes until wilted. Taste, adjust with salt and black pepper, 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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Mung bean + peppertop 9% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together43 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
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Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,164 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Pork + chickentop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,375 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Garlic + tomatotop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together14,075 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the mung bean
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, onion, garlic, pork, pepper, tomato, chicken):
- Beansbetter flavor fit
- Peanutbetter flavor fit
- Sesamebetter flavor fit
- Mung beanthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against olive, onion, garlic, pork, pepper, tomato, chicken. 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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