Name: Salmon with Peanut Sauce Over Broccoli Salad
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsweetened peanut butter; 3 tablespoons chicken broth; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon lite soy sauce; 1 tablespoon dry sherry or sake; 1 1/2 teaspoons Asian hot chili garlic sauce; 1/2 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger; 1 small garlic clove, pushed through a press; 2teaspoons granular sugar substitute; 4 (5 to 6 ounces each) center-cut salmon fillets with skin; 4 cups lightly packed mesclun (baby greens); 4 cups broccoli florets, cooked until crisp-tender

Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Peanut + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together877 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,402 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Chicken + garlictop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Peanut + gingertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together524 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Peanut butter: Provides the body and nutty flavor of the sauce.
Mayonnaise: Adds fat and creaminess, giving the sauce a smooth, rich texture.
Soy sauce: Adds savory saltiness that balances the sweetness and richness of the sauce.
Salmon fillets: The main protein, cooked gently so it stays moist and tender.
Broccoli florets: Provide the crisp-tender vegetable body of the salad.

The step that matters

Bake the salmon until just rosy in the center. Salmon is easy to overcook, and proteins toughen and dry out as they heat past the point of flaking. Pulling it while the center is still slightly rosy keeps the flesh moist and tender.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peanut, butter, chicken, sauce, sherry, garlic, ginger):

Corianderfits better
Turmericfits better
Thymefits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against peanut, butter, chicken, sauce, sherry, garlic, ginger. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Peanut	1 oz (28g)	161
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar Substitute	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Sake	1 oz (30ml)	39
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Sauce	not in our table	0

Salmon with Peanut Sauce Over Broccoli Salad