Why it works: Squid and sauce work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and 23 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 2Ingredients
Contains: milk, 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.
Pat the squid rings and tentacles dry with paper towels. Dice the red onion finely, mince the garlic, and peel and finely dice the ginger.
Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the butter foams.
Add the diced red onion and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until softened.
Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
Add the squid to the skillet in a single layer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once, until opaque and it flakes or reaches 145°F (63°C).
Pour the tamari soy sauce over the squid and toss for 1 minute to coat and glaze.
Cut the lime slice into wedges, squeeze over the squid, 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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Squid + saucetop 13% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together23 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
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Ginger + limetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,621 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Garlic + gingertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,402 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the lime
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (squid, butter, olive, onion, garlic, ginger, sauce):
- Lemonabout as good a flavor fit
- Avocadoabout as good a flavor fit
- Limethe original
- Coconutabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against squid, butter, olive, onion, garlic, ginger, sauce. 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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