Name: Tofu Chili with Chicken
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 1/2 cups onions, diced; 1 cup celery, diced; 1 green bell pepper, diced; 4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tablespoons canned green chiles, diced; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves; 1 to 2 tablespoons chili powder; 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red hot pepper (optional); 14 ounces firm Chinese-style tofu, frozen, thawed, drained and crumbled; 2 cups black beans, cooked; 1 skinless boneless chicken breast, cooked and diced; 1 (15 ounce) can tomatoes in purée

Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 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.

Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 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

Firm tofu: Adds protein-rich body and a soft, crumbly texture that absorbs the chili's flavors.
Black beans: Add starchy body and earthy flavor, thickening the chili as they simmer.
Onions: Soften and turn sweet as they cook, forming the flavor base of the chili.
Tomatoes in purée: Provide liquid, acidity and body that carry the spices through the simmer.
Chili powder: Supplies the main chili flavor and warmth through the sauce.

The step that matters

Simmering with the lid partly on. A gentle low simmer with the lid partly covered lets the chili thicken slowly without scorching or drying out. Too much heat can burn the bottom and make the tofu and chicken tough.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, celery, pepper, clove, garlic, cumin, oregano):

Eggplantfits better
Tomatofits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, celery, pepper, clove, garlic, cumin, oregano. 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
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Black Bean	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	114
Tofu	100g firm	76
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Seed	not in our table	0

Tofu Chili with Chicken