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Spicy Mexican Tofu

A tofu dish simmered with tomatoes, kidney beans, onions, garlic, chili powder, and olive oil, topped with Parmesan.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 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 ↓

Spicy Mexican Tofu

Timeabout 8 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Sauté onion and garlic cloves in olive oil until soft.

  2. Add tomatoes and chili powder and bring to a boil.

  3. Boil vigorously, uncovered, and stir often until thick—about 8 minutes.

Finish and serve

  1. Stir in the tofu.

  2. Add kidney beans and heat through.

  3. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

495Calories
28 gProtein
27 gFat
40 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Kidney Bean1/2 cup canned (128g) drained112
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Tofu100g firm76
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4

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. Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Tofu + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together678 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Extra-firm tofu
Provides the protein base and chewy, sliceable body that holds its shape in the sauce.
Stewed tomatoes
Supply the liquid and acidity that form the base of the sauce as it reduces.
Kidney beans
Add starchy body and texture, thickening the mixture slightly as they heat through.
Onion
Softens and sweetens as it cooks, building the flavor base of the sauce.
Chili powder
Adds warm, earthy heat and aroma that define the dish's Mexican character.

The step that matters

Boil vigorously until thick. Boiling uncovered and stirring often drives off water so the tomato sauce reduces and thickens. Too little boiling leaves the sauce thin and watery.

Swap the kidney beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, onion, tomato, olive, garlic, clove, parmesan cheese):

  1. Chickpeafits better
  2. Beansfits better
  3. Sesamefits better
  4. Kidney beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tofu, onion, tomato, olive, garlic, clove, parmesan cheese. 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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