Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓
Moqueca
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Combine the fish with lime juice and salt in a bowl.
Let it marinate while you prepare the sauté pan.
Cook
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and add the chopped onion and garlic.
Sauté the ingredients until the onion becomes limp.
Add the marinated fish, tomato paste, and water, then simmer for about 10 minutes in medium heat or until the fish is done.
Mix in the coconut milk, pepper sauce, and parsley, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 10 of 12 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut | 1/2 cup shredded (40g) | 283 |
| Salmon | 100g cooked | 208 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Lime | juice of 1 lime (44ml) | 11 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Sauce | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | 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.
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together29,058 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together25,665 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Coconut + limetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together934 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Lime + clovetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together909 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Lime + garlictop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,411 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White fish steaks
- Provides the main protein, which firms and turns opaque as it cooks.
- Coconut milk
- Adds richness and creamy body to the sauce.
- Tomato paste
- Concentrates savory, slightly sweet flavor and thickens the sauce.
- Onion
- Softens as it cooks, building the sweet aromatic base of the sauce.
- Lime juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the fish and firms its surface during marinating.
- Olive oil
- Carries flavor from the aromatics and helps sauté the onion and garlic.
The step that matters
Simmering the fish until done. Fish cooks quickly and turns dry and rubbery if overcooked, so it should be checked early and removed once it flakes easily.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, coconut, milk, olive, lime, onion, garlic):
- Corianderfits better
- Cuminfits better
- Thymefits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against fish, coconut, milk, olive, lime, onion, garlic. 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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