Name: Golden Chicken and Rice Squares
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons minced onion; 1/4 cup butter or margarine; 1/3 cup flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning; 1 1/4 cups chicken broth; 1/2 cup milk; 2 cups chopped cooked chicken; 2 cups cooked rice; 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper; 1/4 cup chopped pimientos; 2 eggs, slightly beaten; 2/3 cups buttered cereal crumbs; Mushroom Sauce (optional)

Why it works: Chicken and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,769 recipes. 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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,374 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,433 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken broth: Liquid that cooks with the flour into a smooth, thickened sauce.
Flour: Thickens the butter and liquid into a smooth white sauce that holds the casserole together.
Eggs: Set when baked, binding the chicken, rice and sauce into a sliceable casserole.
Butter or margarine: Fat that softens the onion and carries flavor into the sauce.
Cooked rice: Adds bulk and body so the casserole holds its shape when cut.

The step that matters

Cook the sauce until thickened and smooth. Flour must be cooked with the liquid and stirred until it thickens; undercooked flour leaves a raw, pasty taste and a thin sauce that will not help the casserole set properly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, pepper, chicken, milk, rice, egg):

Potatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Asparagusfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, pepper, chicken, milk, rice, egg. 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
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Green Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Mushroom	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

Golden Chicken and Rice Squares