Name: Chicken with Rice and Peas
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders; 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/2 cup drained and chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil; 10-ounce package frozen green peas, or one 16-ounce can green peas, drained; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 1 1/2 cups chicken broth; 3 cups hot cooked rice

Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. 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.

Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,539 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together25,665 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,172 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken tenders: Provide the main protein, which cooks through and turns opaque in the skillet.
Cornstarch: Thickens the broth into a glossy sauce when heated to a boil.
Chicken broth: Forms the liquid base of the sauce that the cornstarch thickens.
Sun-dried tomatoes: Add concentrated tomato flavor and a tangy, savory note to the sauce.
Mushrooms: Release moisture and add savory, earthy depth as they cook.
Green peas: Add sweetness, color and a tender texture to the finished dish.

The step that matters

Stirring the cornstarch mixture into the boiling skillet. Cornstarch must reach a boil to thicken fully. Stirring it in evenly prevents lumps, and simmering keeps the sauce from turning thin or gluey.

Swap the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, chicken, mushroom, clove, garlic, pepper, tomato):

Chickpeafits better
Beansfits better
Lentilsfits better
Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, chicken, mushroom, clove, garlic, pepper, tomato. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Chicken with Rice and Peas