Name: Stir-fried Eggplant and Tofu with Garlic and Chilies
Ingredients: 2 Tbs. sesame seeds; 2 Tbs. soy sauce; 2 Tbs. dry white wine, dry sherry or unseasoned rice vinegar; 1 tsp. cornstarch; 6 Tbs. corn or other light vegetable oil; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 4 serrano chilies, seeded and minced; 2 red Anaheim chilies, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares; 3 or 4 Asian eggplant, about 1 lb. total, cut into 1-inch cubes; 1 lb. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes; 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Why it works: Sesame and tofu match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 250 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. 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.

Sesame + tofutop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together250 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Garlic + eggplanttop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together801 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Sesame + eggplanttop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together43 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sesame + garlictop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,000 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Clove + eggplanttop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together154 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sesame, sauce, white wine, corn, garlic, eggplant, tofu):

Cuminfits better
Oreganofits better
Turmericfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sesame, sauce, white wine, corn, garlic, eggplant, tofu. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Tofu	100g firm	76
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1

Stir-fried Eggplant and Tofu with Garlic and Chilies