Why it works: Chicken and broccoli are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,235 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: wheat, soy, sesame (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.
Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Add the chicken and stir-fry until no pink remains and it reaches 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part, about 5 minutes. Move it to a plate.
Add the garlic, ground ginger and carrots to the pan and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add the thawed broccoli and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 3 minutes until the broccoli is tender-crisp.
Whisk the white wine, honey and soy sauce together, pour into the pan and return the chicken with its juices. Simmer for 2 minutes.
Mix the cornstarch, if using, with the 1 teaspoon water, stir into the pan and cook about 1 minute until the sauce thickens. Without cornstarch the sauce stays thin.
Serve over the cooked brown rice or quinoa, topped with the sesame seeds and the scallions if using.
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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Chicken + broccolitop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,235 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).
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Garlic + broccolitop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,072 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Sesame + water chestnuttop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together112 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Sesame + broccolitop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together372 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
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Chicken + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together10,839 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the water chestnut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sesame, chicken, garlic, carrot, broccoli, white wine, honey):
- Grapebetter flavor fit
- Lemonbetter flavor fit
- Limeabout as good a flavor fit
- Water chestnutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sesame, chicken, garlic, carrot, broccoli, white wine, honey. 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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