Name: Chicken Taos Salad
Ingredients: 3 cups cooked rice; 2 cups diced cooked chicken breast meat; 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed; 1 11-ounce can corn, drained; 1 medium-size red bell pepper, chopped; 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions; 1/4 cup vegetable oil; 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice; 1 tablespoon cider vinegar; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon cumin; 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Why it works: Rice and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 4,569 recipes mention both. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓

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.

Rice + chickentop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together4,569 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Rice + corntop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together895 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Corn + limetop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together773 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Chicken + oniontop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together17,808 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Cooked rice: Forms the bulk of the salad and soaks up the dressing.
Cooked chicken breast: Supplies the protein and substance of the salad.
Kidney beans: Add body and a firm, starchy texture to the salad.
Lime juice: Adds bright acidity that balances the sweetness and spice of the dressing.
Vegetable oil: Carries the spices and coats the other ingredients, adding moisture.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness that rounds out the acidity and chili heat.

Flavor stand-ins for the kidney beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, chicken, meat, corn, pepper, onion, lime):

Peanutbetter flavor fit
Beansbetter flavor fit
Sesamebetter flavor fit
Kidney beansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, chicken, meat, corn, pepper, onion, lime. 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.