Name: Captain Robbie's Fish Dinner
Ingredients: 1 12-ounce can beer*; 1 10-ounce package frozen peas and carrots, thawed; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 1/2 medium red pepper, finely chopped; 1/4 cup butter or margarine; 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley; 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed; 1 1/2 pounds fish fillets, cut into serving-size pieces; 1 cup uncooked rice; 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

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 ↓

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).
Pepper + parsleytop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together34,122 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,994 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

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

What each ingredient does

Beer: Adds liquid and flavor to the base in which the rice cooks.
Fish fillets: Provide the main protein, cooked gently in the simmering liquid until they flake.
Rice: Absorbs the seasoned liquid and sets into a tender, fluffy base.
Frozen peas and carrots: Add sweetness, color and a tender vegetable texture to the skillet.
Butter or margarine: Adds fat and richness to the cooking liquid.

The step that matters

Measuring the liquid for the rice. Rice absorbs a fixed amount of liquid. Too much leaves it soggy, and too little leaves it firm or scorched. Measuring the total to 2 cups after removing the fish gives the rice the right ratio to cook through and become tender.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beer, carrot, onion, pepper, butter, chicken, parsley):

Beansfits better
Sesamefits better
Lentilsfits about as well
Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beer, carrot, onion, pepper, butter, chicken, parsley. 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
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Beer	1/4 cup (60ml) for cooking	43
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Dill	5 sprigs fresh (1g) / 1 tsp dried	4
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1

Captain Robbie's Fish Dinner