Name: Pork Cantonese Salad
Ingredients: 4 cups cooked rice, cooled; 3 cups cold cooked pork roast, cut into long strips 1/4-inch wide; 2 cups diagonally-sliced celery; 2 cups fresh bean sprouts*; 1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained; 1 6-ounce can sliced bamboo shoots, drained; 1/2 cup sliced green onions; 1/4 cup chopped pimientos; 1 cup mayonnaise; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon dry mustard; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 5-ounce can chow mein noodles

Why it works: Pork and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 18,199 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Pork + oniontop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together18,199 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Water chestnut + bamboo shootstop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together61 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Bamboo shoots + gingertop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together80 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Water chestnut + gingertop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together138 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Rice + celerytop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together2,139 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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 absorbs some of the dressing's moisture.
Mayonnaise: Provides fat and creaminess that bind the salad and coat the other ingredients.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savory depth to the dressing.
Pork roast: Supplies the main protein and meaty flavor.
Water chestnuts: Add a crisp, crunchy texture that holds up after chilling.
Chow mein noodles: Add crunch to the topping just before serving.

Flavor stand-ins for the celery

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, pork, water chestnut, bamboo shoots, onion, sauce, ginger):

Garlicabout as good a flavor fit
Turmericabout as good a flavor fit
Corianderabout as good a flavor fit
Celerythe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, pork, water chestnut, bamboo shoots, onion, sauce, ginger. 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.