Name: Marco Polo Steak Skillet
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 1/2 pounds beef round steak, cut into thin strips; 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch squares; 1 tablespoon cornstarch; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 1/2 cups beef broth; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 medium tomato, cut into 3/4-inch pieces; 3 cups hot cooked rice

Why it works: Tomato and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,065 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. 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.

Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,065 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,448 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,971 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Beef + ricetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,265 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef round steak: Provides the main protein, browning in the hot skillet for savory flavor.
Cornstarch: Thickens the broth and soy sauce into a glossy sauce as it heats.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savory depth and helps color the sauce.
Beef broth: Forms the liquid base of the sauce and carries the seasoning.
Green bell pepper: Softens while keeping some bite, adding fresh, slightly bitter flavor.
Tomato: Adds acidity and moisture, heated through at the end so it keeps its shape.

The step that matters

Cook the cornstarch sauce until clear and thickened. Cornstarch only thickens fully when it reaches a simmer and is stirred, so stopping early leaves the sauce thin and cloudy. Keep stirring so it does not scorch or form lumps.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, pepper, sauce, sugar, rice):

Capsicumfits better
Tomatothe original
Carrotfits about as well
Mustardfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, pepper, sauce, sugar, 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Marco Polo Steak Skillet