Name: Bangkok Rice and Shrimp Salad
Ingredients: 1/2 cup canned coconut milk; 1/4 cup rice vinegar; 1 tablespoon oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 3 tablespoons chopped basil, plus additional basil leaves for garnish; 3 cups cooked U.S. jasmine or medium grain rice; 1 pound frozen cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, thawed; 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

Why it works: Shrimp and peanut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 182 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: milk, peanut, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

1/2 cup canned coconut milk
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chopped basil, plus additional basil leaves for garnish
3 cups cooked U.S. jasmine or medium grain rice
1 pound frozen cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined, thawed
1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

Also mentioned in the method: milk

Directions

Make the dressing

Whisk milk, vinegar and oil together in a small bowl.
Add salt and basil.
Set aside.

Assemble and serve

Stir rice, shrimp and coconut milk mixture in medium bowl until blended.
Spoon into serving bowl.
Sprinkle with peanuts and basil to garnish.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Shrimp + peanuttop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together182 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Coconut + ricetop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together1,048 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Coconut + peanuttop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together434 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Rice + peanuttop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together592 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Milk + ricetop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together7,354 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Coconut milk: Adds richness and a creamy coating that moistens the rice and shrimp.
Rice vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the salad and balances the richness of the coconut milk.
Jasmine or medium grain rice: Forms the bulk of the salad, absorbing the dressing and giving it body.
Shrimp: Provides the main protein and savory flavor.
Basil: Contributes fresh, aromatic herbal flavor.

Flavor stand-ins for the basil

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coconut, milk, rice, vinegar, jasmine, shrimp, peanut):

Gingerbetter flavor fit
Corianderbetter flavor fit
Cinnamonbetter flavor fit
Basilthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against coconut, milk, rice, vinegar, jasmine, shrimp, peanut. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.