Name: Tea-crusted Tofu Over Greens
Ingredients: 1 tsp. mirin, Japanese rice wine; ½ oz. galanga root, peeled and grated; 4 bags green tea with 1 cup boiling water, reduced by half; 1 tsp. brown rice syrup; 1 tsp. organic Sucanat; 2 cloves garlic, roasted; 1 shallot, roasted; 3 Tbs. honey; 3 drops Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids; 4 Tbs. mango purée; 3 drops Ume Plum Vinegar; Salad; 1 lb. block Nasoya Tofu, extra firm; bake tofu for 20 minutes if too moist.; 1 each Bosc or Asian pear, sliced but not peeled; 1 beet, boiled with skin on, cooled and diced; 1 Tbs. Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 2 tsp. green tea, loose, or 2 green tea bags opened; 1 cup water, boiled; 1 ½ tsp. sesame seeds, toasted; 1/8 tsp. Herbamare Seasoning; 8 cups Earthbound Farm Organic Salad Greens; 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved, or pear tomatoes, quartered; 8 each parsley sprigs

Why it works: Garlic and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,000 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. 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.

Garlic + shallottop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,000 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Clove + shallottop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,677 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Rice + shallottop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together284 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,368 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Rice + garlictop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,358 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Tofu: Extra-firm block that is pressed dry so it browns and crisps rather than steaming.
Green tea: Gives the tofu its tea-flavoured crust and a bitter, aromatic note.
Honey: Adds sweetness and helps the vinaigrette and coating brown and caramelise.
Mango purée: Adds body, fruity sweetness and moisture to the dressing.
Sesame seeds: Add toasty aroma and a nutty crunch to the crust.
Olive oil: Conducts heat in the skillet and adds fat for richer flavour in the dressing.

The step that matters

Drying the tofu before frying. Surface moisture turns to steam in a hot pan, which stops browning and makes the crust soggy. Patting the slices dry lets the tea and sesame coating toast and turn golden.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice wine, green tea, rice, syrup, clove, shallot, honey):

Cinnamonfits better
Gingerfits better
Cardamomfits better
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice wine, green tea, rice, syrup, clove, shallot, honey. 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
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Asian Pear	1 medium (178g)	101
Pear	1 medium (178g)	101
Mango	1 cup diced (165g)	99
Cherry	1 cup (138g)	87
Tofu	100g firm	76
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Beet	1/2 cup (85g)	35
Plum	1 medium (66g)	30
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Shallot	1 tbsp minced (10g)	7
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Parsley	1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)	1
Galanga	not in our table	0
Green Tea	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Syrup	not in our table	0
Salad	not in our table	0

Tea-crusted Tofu Over Greens