Why it works: Asparagus and shrimp match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and 129 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-heptenal, which smells green. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: shellfish (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.
Warm the cooked brown rice in a covered pan with a splash of water over low heat for about 3 minutes, then keep it covered and warm.
Pour the low-sodium chicken broth into a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the asparagus chunks and cook 3 minutes, stirring, until bright green and just tender.
Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and stir for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the cherry tomatoes and cook 2 minutes, stirring gently, until the skins just begin to split.
Add the shrimp in a single layer and cook 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until opaque and the thickest part reaches 145°F (63°C).
Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and spoon the shrimp and vegetables over the warm rice.
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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Asparagus + shrimptop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together129 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptenal (green).
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Chicken + ricetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,569 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Pepper + lemontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,039 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Chicken + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together10,839 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
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Asparagus + ricetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together244 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the cherry tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, garlic, asparagus, shrimp, pepper, lemon, rice):
- Limebetter flavor fit
- Avocadobetter flavor fit
- Mangobetter flavor fit
- Cherry tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, garlic, asparagus, shrimp, pepper, lemon, rice. 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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