Name: Soy-Mustard Vinegar Dipping Sauce
Ingredients: 1/4 cup soy sauce; 1 tbsp dijon mustard; 1 tsp brown sugar; 1 tsp rice vinegar; 1 tsp green onion

Why it works: Mustard and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Soy-Mustard Vinegar Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Thoroughly blend the ingredients to dissolve the sugar.
Serve as a dipping sauce for steamed fish.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

108Calories

2 gProtein

0 gFat

24 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3

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.

Mustard + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,067 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Rice + oniontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,433 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Mustard + ricetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together599 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Sauce + mustardtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,120 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Soy sauce: Provides salty, savoury depth as the base of the sauce.
Dijon mustard: Adds sharp, pungent heat that cuts through the salty soy.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the salt and sharpness of the sauce.
Rice vinegar: Adds mild acidity that brightens the sauce.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, mustard, sugar, rice, vinegar):

Horseradishfits better
Shallotfits better
Cucumberfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, mustard, sugar, rice, vinegar. 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.