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Tempeh Chili

A chili made with tempeh, onion, tomato sauce, chili powder, tamari, dry mustard, garlic powder, and cumin.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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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 ↓

Tempeh Chili

Time20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and cook

  1. Cut the tempeh into small cubes.

  2. Sauté in oil for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

Simmer and serve

  1. Add remainder of ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.

  2. Serve over rice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

377Calories
20 gProtein
24 gFat
27 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Tempeh100g160
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3

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.

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.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Tomato + cumintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Mustard + garlictop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together4,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Tempeh
Provides the firm, protein-rich body of the chili and browns in the oil for savoury flavour.
Tomato sauce
Supplies the liquid base and acidity that the chili simmers in.
Onion
Adds sweetness and aromatic depth as it softens into the sauce.
Chili powder
Provides the main spice flavour and warmth of the dish.
Tamari
Adds salty, savoury depth through fermented soy flavour.

The step that matters

Sauté the tempeh until lightly browned. Browning the cubes in oil develops deeper flavour through the Maillard reaction. Pale, under-browned tempeh tastes flat and bland once it simmers in the sauce.

Swap the mustard

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, tomato, sauce, garlic, cumin):

  1. Okrafits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Spinachfits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, tomato, sauce, garlic, cumin. 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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