Why it works: Beans and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,188 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓
Black Bean with Rice Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Place the cooked rice, black beans with their liquid, the taco seasoning mix, and the chopped green onions in a 6-quart Dutch oven over low heat.
Start adding chicken broth, about a cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Continue adding broth until the soup reaches the desired consistency.
Season with salt, pepper, and cumin to taste.
Continue cooking over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes.
Add more chicken broth as needed to keep the soup from becoming too thick.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Black Bean | 1/2 cup canned (120g) drained | 114 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Cumin | 1 tsp ground (2.1g) | 8 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Taco | 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.
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.
-
Beans + cumintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,188 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Rice + beanstop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,017 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Rice + chickentop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,769 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Onion + cumintop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,498 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Cumin + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together4,382 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cooked rice
- Adds body and thickens the soup as it simmers and breaks down slightly.
- Black beans
- Provide starch and creaminess, thickening the broth while adding texture.
- Chicken broth
- Forms the liquid base and controls the final thickness of the soup.
The step that matters
Adding the broth gradually. Rice keeps absorbing liquid and thickens as it cooks, so adding broth a cup at a time and stirring lets you reach the desired consistency without the soup turning gluey or too thick.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, beans, chicken, cumin, pepper):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Okrafits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, beans, chicken, cumin, pepper. 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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