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Red Rice II

A savory rice dish cooked with bacon, onion, tomatoes, and tomato paste.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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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 ↓

Red Rice II

Time15 to 20 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Cook bacon in a small skillet over low heat until almost crisp.

  2. Remove bacon from skillet and set aside.

  3. Pour bacon drippings into a medium saucepan.

  4. Cook onion in drippings until golden.

Cook the rice

  1. Stir in tomatoes, rice, salt, ground black pepper, ground red pepper, and 1-3/4 cups water.

  2. Bring to a boil; stir once or twice.

  3. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

Finish

  1. Blend tomato paste in 1 tablespoon water.

  2. Stir tomato paste and reserved bacon into rice.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

329Calories
10 gProtein
4 gFat
63 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bacon1 slice cooked (8g)43
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

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

  3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

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

  4. Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,433 recipes

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

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Bacon
Adds smoky, savory fat that flavours the drippings and the finished rice.
Onion
Softens and browns in the bacon fat, adding sweetness and depth to the base.
Rice
Absorbs the cooking liquid and sets into tender grains as it simmers.
Tomatoes
Provide moisture and acidity that give the rice its tomato flavour and colour.
Tomato paste
Concentrates tomato flavour and deepens the red colour of the dish.

The step that matters

Simmer covered until the liquid is absorbed. Rice cooks by absorbing liquid in a sealed pan. Lifting the lid or stirring too often lets steam escape and can leave grains hard or uneven, while leaving the heat too high can scorch the bottom before the grains are tender.

Swap the onion

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

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Okrafits better
  3. Carrotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, rice, 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.

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