Name: Sizzling Chicken Fajitas
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (though, frankly, a little more or less will be fine here); 2 tablespoons lime juice (half a juicy lime); 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano; 2 teaspoons ground cumin; 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika; Few dashes hot sauce, optional; 8 (6-inch) flour or corn tortillas; Olive oil; 2 large bell peppers, cut into thin strips (I use a mix of green, red and other colors, if I can find them); 1 large yellow or sweet onion, halved and sliced thin; Coarse salt; 1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (1 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed); Salsa or pico de gallo; Sliced avocado or guacamole; Shredded cheese or sour cream; Minced white onion or pickled red onions; Chopped cilantro, pickled jalalpenos, hot sauce and lime wedges; 1 bag of coleslaw mix + 2 scallions, thinly sliced + a spoonful or two of mayo + lime juice + salt to taste. If you don’t like mayo, use olive oil. I don’t recommend yogurt or sour cream because they might curdle. Creme fraiche would not. If you don’t have coleslaw mix, just shred a few cups of cabb

Why it works: Oregano and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Oregano + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Lime + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,216 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cumin + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together291 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the lime

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, oregano, cumin, garlic, sauce, flour, olive):

Avocadofits about as well
Limethe original
Lemonfits less well
Cherryfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, oregano, cumin, garlic, sauce, flour, olive. 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
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Corn Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Black Bean	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	114
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Sizzling Chicken Fajitas