Name: Asian Cabbage Slaw with Basil Ginger Dressing
Prep time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 3 Tablespoons FOR THE DRESSING:; 2 whole Basil Infused Olive Oil; 1 Tablespoon Small Limes, Juiced (or Two Tablespoons); 1 teaspoon Tamari; ½ teaspoons Honey; 1 teaspoon Fish Sauce; 2 pinches Fresh Grated Ginger Root; ½ whole Kosher Salt; ½ heads FOR THE SLAW:; 2 cups Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced; ½ cups Purple Cabbage, Quartered And Sliced Thin (about 3 Cups); ⅓ whole Baby Spinach, Stems Removed And Discarded, The Leaves Sliced Thin; 3 whole Carrots That Are Sliced Into Matchsticks; 1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Halved Lengthwise And Sliced Thin; ⅓ cups Green Onions, Sliced Thin On An Angle

Why it works: Lime and jalapeno are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,035 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

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.

Lime + jalapenotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,035 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Lime + gingertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,621 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Basil + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together505 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Basil + olivetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,063 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Basil + gingertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together308 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the cabbage

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (basil, olive, lime, honey, fish sauce, ginger, jalapeno):

Tomatofits better
Welsh onionfits better
Capsicumfits better
Cabbagethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against basil, olive, lime, honey, fish sauce, ginger, jalapeno. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Spinach	1 cup raw (30g)	7
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Asian Cabbage Slaw with Basil Ginger Dressing