Skip to main content

Spicy Kale and Coconut Stir Fry

A vegetarian weeknight stir fry with sautéed kale, coconut flakes and rice. The dish is finished with Thai flavors like lime, cilantro and sriracha. For best results, cook your rice in advance and refrigerate until you're ready to start cooking. This dish comes together very quickly—be sure to have your ingredients prepped ahead of time and placed near the stove, along with a big empty bowl for the cooked components. As you cook, use your senses and pay attention to the visual cues provided. Adjust your cooking temperature as necessary.

Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Coconut and kale work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and 47 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 2
Cook10 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, 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.

  1. Toast the coconut flakes in a dry large skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden. Transfer to a small bowl.

  2. Heat half the coconut oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Pour in the beaten eggs and scramble until just set, about 160°F (71°C). Transfer to a plate.

  3. Add the remaining coconut oil and the optional sliced vegetables to the skillet. Stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes until tender-crisp.

  4. Add the garlic and most of the green onions, reserving some for garnish. Stir-fry 30 seconds until fragrant.

  5. Add the kale and sea salt. Toss for 2 to 3 minutes until the kale wilts.

  6. Add the chilled brown rice, breaking up clumps, and stir-fry 3 minutes until hot throughout.

  7. Return the scrambled eggs to the skillet along with the tamari and chili garlic sauce. Toss to combine and heat through.

  8. Divide among bowls. Top with the toasted coconut, reserved green onions and cilantro. Squeeze lime over each serving before eating.

By cookieandkate. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Coconut + kaletop 11% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together47 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together29,030 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Coconut + ricetop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,048 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

  4. Garlic + kaletop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together490 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Garlic + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together27,044 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 onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coconut, egg, garlic, pepper, kale, rice, sauce):

  1. Capsicumbetter flavor fit
  2. Spinachbetter flavor fit
  3. Tomatobetter flavor fit
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against coconut, egg, garlic, pepper, kale, rice, 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).