Why it works: Miso and pork work together. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 23 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
3 servingsIngredients
Contains: soy, sesame (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.
Cut the tofu into cubes if needed and pat the cubes gently dry with paper towels.
Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the white parts of the green onion and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it up, for about 4 minutes until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F (71°C) inside.
In a small bowl, stir the miso paste and water together until smooth, then pour into the skillet.
Gently add the tofu cubes, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 4 minutes, stirring carefully so the tofu stays intact.
Sprinkle the green parts of the green onion over the top 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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Miso + porktop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Sesame + tofutop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together250 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Miso + tofutop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together75 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Miso + sesametop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together121 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Sesame + oniontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,192 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (miso, sesame, pork, tofu):
- Welsh onionbetter flavor fit
- Spinachabout as good a flavor fit
- Onionthe original
- Asparagusabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against miso, sesame, pork, tofu. 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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