Why it works: Sriracha and salmon share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 25 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: soy, fish (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.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a baking sheet with foil.
In a small saucepan, whisk together the honey, low sodium soy sauce, ground ginger, sriracha, brown sugar and granulated garlic. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until slightly thickened.
Pat the salmon fillets dry and place them skin side down on the lined baking sheet, spaced apart.
Set aside about a third of the glaze in a small bowl for serving. Brush the rest generously over the tops of the salmon fillets.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the salmon reaches 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part and flakes easily with a fork.
Brush the salmon with a little of the reserved glaze and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Serve warm with the remaining glaze spooned over the top.
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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Sriracha + salmontop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together25 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Ginger + garlictop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,402 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sriracha + garlictop 5% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together270 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Honey + gingertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,163 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + srirachatop 5% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together153 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the garlic
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (honey, sauce, ginger, sriracha, sugar, salmon):
- Cinnamonbetter flavor fit
- Corianderbetter flavor fit
- Garlicthe original
- Cardamomabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against honey, sauce, ginger, sriracha, sugar, salmon. 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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