Name: Pork Sate with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients: 8 ounces boneless pork loin, cut into sixteen 1-inch cubes; 3/4 cup chicken broth, divided; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 teaspoons lime juice; 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar; 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander; 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/2 large red pepper, cut into sixteen 1-inch squares; 1/2 large green pepper, cut into sixteen 1-inch squares; 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter; dash ground red pepper; 1 cup hot cooked rice

Why it works: Lime and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,536 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Lime + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,536 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Pork + chickentop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,417 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Coriander + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,474 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Coriander + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,949 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Pork loin: Provides the main protein, which becomes tender and browned when broiled.
Peanut butter: Gives the sauce its body, richness and nutty flavor.
Chicken broth: Adds moisture to the marinade and to the basting, helping keep the meat juicy.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savory depth to the marinade and helps the meat brown.
Lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the marinade and balances the sweetness.
Red and green peppers: Add sweetness, a slight crunch and color to the skewers.

The step that matters

Broiling and basting the skewers. Broiling cooks the pork quickly, so it can dry out or scorch if left too long. Turning and basting with broth keeps the surface moist while it browns, and the meat should be tender when done.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, chicken, sauce, lime, sugar, coriander, pepper):

Cuminfits better
Gingerfits better
Thymefits about as well
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, chicken, sauce, lime, sugar, coriander, pepper. 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
Peanut	1 oz (28g)	161
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Coriander	not in our table	0

Pork Sate with Peanut Sauce