Why it works: Rice and jasmine work together. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and 38 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: egg, wheat, peanut, soy, sesame (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare
Prepare steamed broccoli as an accompaniment while the rice cooks.
Slice a few pieces of baked marinated tofu to round out the meal.
Make sauce: In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, optional sesame oil, and cornstarch; add broth, sugar, and salt; set aside.
In a small heavy saucepan, combine rice and cold water to cover; rub grains with fingers to separate, then drain well; repeat twice until water drains clear.
Return rice to saucepan with 1 ½ cups fresh cold water; bring to a boil, reduce heat to very low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 16 minutes; remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and set aside.
Stir-fry
In a nonstick wok or large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium‑high heat until it ripples; add eggs and scramble until cooked through, about 30 seconds; transfer eggs to a cutting board, chop, and set aside.
In the same wok over medium‑high heat, add garlic and stir‑fry 30 seconds; add bell pepper and mushrooms and stir‑fry 3 minutes; add spinach and stir‑fry 1 minute.
Add cooked rice and eggs to the wok; stir in the sauce and add to the wok; cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens, 2–3 minutes.
Stir in scallions and serve hot.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Rice + jasminetop 10% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together38 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
-
Shiitake + sesametop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together142 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Spinach + sesametop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together203 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Sesame + ricetop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together643 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Shiitake + spinachtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together58 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Long-grain rice
- Forms the bulk of the dish; rinsing and simmering it until tender gives separate, fluffy grains.
- Eggs
- Scrambled and chopped, they add richness and soft pieces of protein throughout the rice.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the sauce as it heats, so it clings to the rice rather than pooling.
- Soy sauce
- Provides salty, savory flavor and colors the rice and sauce.
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Add meaty, savory depth and a tender chew to the stir-fry.
- Spinach
- Adds moisture and green color; squeezing it dry keeps the fried rice from becoming soggy.
The step that matters
Rinsing and draining the rice before cooking. Rinsing washes away surface starch that would make cooked grains gummy and clump together. Draining well and fluffing after cooking helps the grains stay separate for frying.
“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.
You might also like
Illustration
Illustration
Illustration
IllustrationThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.