Name: Buddha's Delight
Ingredients: 2 tsp. dark sesame oil; 1 1/2 tsp. sugar; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1/4 tsp. ground white pepper; 8 Chinese dried mushrooms; 2 oz. dried bean thread noodles, broken into 4-inch pieces; 1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil; 3 scallions (white and light green parts), cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 small clove garlic, minced; 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger; 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced on diagonal; 1/2 cup canned sliced water chestnuts; 1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, julienned; 15-oz. can baby corn, drained; 8 oz. snow peas, strings removed; 8 oz. Chinese (Napa) cabbage (1/4 small head), cut into 2 x 1-inch pieces; 8 oz. firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes; 2 Tbs. soy sauce; 2/3 cup vegetable broth

Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ginger + carrottop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sesame + gingertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,531 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Sesame + garlictop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,000 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Dried bean thread noodles: Absorb the sauce and add a soft, slippery chewy texture to the dish.
Firm tofu: Adds protein-rich body and soaks up flavor from the sauce.
Chinese dried mushrooms: Provide a deep, savory umami aroma and a meaty chew.
Soy sauce: Supplies salt and savory depth that seasons the whole dish.
Snow peas: Stay crisp-tender during quick stir-frying, adding freshness and crunch.

The step that matters

Reduce heat to low and cook until most sauce is absorbed. Low, covered heat lets the noodles and tofu take up the sauce gently without scorching the sugar and soy in the pan or turning the vegetables mushy.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sesame, sugar, mushroom, clove, garlic, ginger, carrot):

Cinnamonfits better
Cuminfits better
Cardamomfits better
White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sesame, sugar, mushroom, clove, garlic, ginger, carrot. 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
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Tofu	100g firm	76
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Napa Cabbage	1 cup shredded (89g)	22
Mushrooms	1/2 cup sliced (35g)	15
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
White Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Bean	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Chestnut	not in our table	0
Bamboo Shoots	not in our table	0

Buddha's Delight

Buddha's Delight

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Stir-fry

Finish and serve

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)