Why it works: Onion and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 68,474 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓
Onion Dumpling Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the onions and dumpling dough
Sauté onions in oil and add paprika.
Dilute with a little water and simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Drain and keep the liquid.
Mix onions with egg, flour and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Work into a soft dough (add water if necessary).
Make the broth and dumplings
Add reserved liquid to water to make 4 cups of broth.
Add salt and bring to boil.
Make small dumplings (1") and add to boiling broth, cooking until done.
Finish and serve
Mix sour cream and yolk together and put in tureen.
Ladle soup little by little while constantly stirring to prevent curdling.
Heat and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Yogurt | 170g plain Greek | 100 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| 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.
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.
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Onion + flourtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together32,460 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Onion + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together10,827 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
-
Flour + peppertop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50,459 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Egg and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Onions
- Soften and sweeten as they cook, and add bulk and flavor to the soup and dumplings.
- Flour
- Binds the onion mixture into a dough that holds its shape in the broth.
- Egg
- Adds structure and helps bind the dumpling dough together.
- Sour cream
- Adds richness and tang, and gives the finished soup a creamy body.
- Egg yolk
- Enriches and thickens the sour cream mixture so it blends smoothly into the soup.
The step that matters
Ladle soup little by little while constantly stirring. Adding hot broth slowly to the sour cream and yolk mixture while stirring gradually warms it, which helps prevent the dairy and egg from curdling.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, egg, flour, pepper):
- Spinachfits better
- Chivefits better
- Leekfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, egg, flour, 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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