Name: Hawaiian Sausage and Rice
Ingredients: 1 1/4 pounds smoked country-style sausage; 1 cup chopped onion; 3/4 cup catsup; 3/4 cup chicken broth; 1 teaspoon prepared mustard; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 8- to 8-1/2-ounce can pineapple chunks in unsweetened pineapple juice* (drain; reserve juice); 1 large green pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces; 3 cups hot cooked rice

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).
Onion + mustardtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together9,259 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,430 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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

Smoked country-style sausage: Provides the main meat flavor and smoky taste that the sauce is built around.
Catsup: Adds sweetness and acidity, forming the base of the tangy sauce.
Soy sauce: Adds savory depth and salt to balance the sweetness of the sauce.
Pineapple chunks: Contribute sweetness and bright acidity, and soften slightly during simmering.
Chicken broth: Provides liquid that thins the sauce and carries its savory flavor.
Green pepper: Adds fresh, slightly bitter crunch that stays tender-crisp after brief cooking.

The step that matters

Adding the green pepper. Green pepper needs only the final 5 minutes of cooking. Cooking it longer in the simmering sauce turns it soft and dull in colour and flavour.

Swap the pineapple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, chicken, mustard, sauce, pepper, rice):

Avocadofits better
Limefits better
Coconutfits better
Pineapplethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, chicken, mustard, sauce, pepper, rice. 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
Pork	100g cooked	242
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Pineapple	1 cup chunks (165g)	82
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3

Hawaiian Sausage and Rice