Name: Tempeh Mock Chicken Salad
Ingredients: 8 oz tempeh, cubed; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp water; 1 tsp vinegar, rice; 1 cup celery, chopped; 1/5 cup carrot, chopped; 4 scallions, minced; 1/2 cup parsley, minced; 1/2 cup mayonnaise, eggless

Why it works: Carrot and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,053 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Tempeh Mock Chicken Salad

Time5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the tempeh

Combine tempeh, soy sauce, water and vinegar in a covered 1-quart glass casserole.
Cook on high for 5 minutes, stirring once.
Remove cover and cool to room temperature.

Assemble and chill

Add remaining ingredients to tempeh mixture.
Stir well and chill.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

532Calories

29 gProtein

15 gFat

72 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Tempeh	100g	160
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Water	not in our table	0

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.

Carrot + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,053 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Celery + carrottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,810 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + carrottop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,477 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Rice + celerytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,169 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Tempeh: Provides the firm, chewy protein body that gives the salad its chicken-like texture.
Mayonnaise: Adds creaminess and moisture, binding the salad together.
Celery: Adds crisp crunch that contrasts with the soft tempeh.
Soy sauce: Contributes salty, savory depth to the tempeh.
Rice vinegar: Adds a light acidity that brightens the flavors.

The step that matters

Cool the tempeh to room temperature before adding the mayonnaise. Warm tempeh can thin the mayonnaise and cause its emulsion to break or turn oily, leaving the salad greasy and loose instead of creamy and cohesive.

Swap the parsley

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

Parsleythe original
Tarragonfits about as well
Dillfits about as well
Turmericfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, vinegar, rice, celery, carrot. 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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Tempeh Mock Chicken Salad