Name: Spicy Korean Tofu
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 4 or 5 cloves garlic, sliced thin; 1 carrot, peeled and sliced; 1 medium white onion, sliced; 3 tablespoons kochujang (Korean red chili pepper paste); 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper; 1 2/3 tablespoons granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1/4 pound broccoli florets; 1 pound firm tofu, drained well and sliced; 4 green onions; 3 tablespoon water; 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. 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.

Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,442 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
Onion + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,294 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Tofu: Absorbs the pepper sauce and provides a soft, protein-rich body to the dish.
Kochujang: Supplies the chili heat, savory depth and reddish color of the sauce.
Garlic: Releases aroma when sautéed in oil, adding savory flavor to the base.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savory depth that balances the sweetness and heat of the sauce.
Broccoli: Adds crisp-tender texture and absorbs sauce as it steams.

The step that matters

Adding the cayenne pepper. Cayenne is far hotter than kochujang and can easily overwhelm the dish. Adding it gradually, after tasting, keeps the heat balanced, since the chili paste already provides substantial spiciness.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, clove, carrot, pepper, sugar, sauce, broccoli):

Capsicumfits better
Mustardfits better
Parsnipfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, clove, carrot, pepper, sugar, sauce, broccoli. 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
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tofu	100g firm	76
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Water	not in our table	0

Spicy Korean Tofu