Why it works: Chicken and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,172 recipes. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓
Tamago Toji
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the soup
Heat stock in a saucepan and stir in salt and soy sauce.
If using mushrooms, wash and slice thinly and add to the stock.
Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Add the egg and serve
Bring soup to a boil and, with a ladle or chopsticks, stir the soup clockwise.
Pour in the beaten egg, remove the soup from the heat, and stir counterclockwise.
If using trefoil, coriander, or chives, cover the pot for 30-40 seconds, then uncover and add pepper.
Serve immediately.
If sansho or Szechwan peppercorns are unavailable, use a pinch of standard black pepper or a blend that often contains sansho/Szechwan peppercorns.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Vegetable | 1 tbsp (14g) | 120 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Mushrooms | 1/2 cup sliced (35g) | 15 |
| Soy Sauce | 1 tbsp (15ml) | 9 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Chive | 1 tbsp (3g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Coriander | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
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.
-
Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,172 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).
-
Coriander + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,949 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
-
Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Chicken + coriandertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,751 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
-
Mushroom + coriandertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together377 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set into soft ribbons and thicken the soup as it hits the hot stock.
- Stock
- Forms the savory liquid base that carries all the other flavors.
- Soy sauce
- Adds savory depth and a touch of color to the broth.
The step that matters
Pour in the beaten egg, then stir counterclockwise. The egg must be poured into just-boiling stock with the pot off the heat, and stirred gently, so proteins set into fine ribbons rather than clumps or scrambled bits.
Swap the coriander
The recipe marks coriander as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, sauce, mushroom, egg, pepper):
- Garlicfits better
- Thymefits better
- Tarragonfits better
- Corianderthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, sauce, mushroom, egg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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