Name: Crab Soup
Ingredients: 2 litres of fish stock; 2 medium-sized crabs; 100 gram ginger; 50 gram scallions; 50 gram Indonesian parsley; salt; pepper

Why it works: Parsley and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 34,122 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Crab Soup

Timeabout 5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the stock

Make fish stock by boiling fish bones in 8 cups of water, then remove the bones after a few minutes.

Prepare the ingredients

Wash the crabs.
Split the crabs into several parts.
Cut the ginger into very thin slices.
Cut the scallions.
Cut the Indonesian parsley.

Cook and season

Reheat the stock for about 5 minutes.
Put everything into the stock.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

358Calories

41 gProtein

15 gFat

12 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Crab	100g cooked	97
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,800 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ginger + parsleytop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together676 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Fish + crabtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together56 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Crab + peppertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together922 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Fish stock: Forms the flavourful liquid base of the soup and carries the other ingredients.
Crabs: Provide the main seafood flavour and sweetness as they cook in the stock.
Ginger: Adds a warm, aromatic note that cuts through the richness of the stock.
Scallions: Add a mild onion-like aroma and fresh flavour to the soup.
Indonesian parsley: Adds a fresh, herbal aroma at the end of cooking.