Why it works: Meat and peanut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 119 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine, which smells cocoa, roasted. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: peanut, soy (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Marinate
Mix coconut milk, sugar, curry paste, curry powder, ground turmeric, ground coriander, Bragg Liquid Aminos, shallots, garlic and peanut oil in mixing bowl.
Add soy meat and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.
Cook and serve
Grill soy meat on lightly oiled indoor electric grill for about 3 minutes, or until browned.
Alternatively, sear soy meat in heavy skillet, lightly coated with peanut oil, over medium-high heat until each side is browned.
Drizzle with fresh lime juice.
Let cool for 1 minute and skewer.
Serve with Spicy Peanut Sauce.
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.
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Meat + peanuttop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together119 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
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Turmeric + coriandertop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together2,252 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Coconut + peanuttop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together434 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
-
Coconut + coriandertop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,038 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
-
Coriander + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together6,477 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Coconut milk
- Adds richness and moisture, and its fat carries the curry flavours into the soy meat.
- Soy meat
- Serves as the protein base that absorbs the marinade and browns on the grill or skillet.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the marinade brown during cooking.
- Green curry paste
- Provides the main spice and aromatic flavour of the marinade.
- Peanut oil
- Conducts heat for browning and helps carry the marinade's aromatic compounds.
- Bragg liquid aminos
- Adds savoury depth and salty umami flavour to the marinade.
The step that matters
Sear until each side is browned. Browning comes from the Maillard reaction on a hot, lightly oiled surface. Sugars and proteins need high heat and dry surface contact to brown, so a crowded or cool pan will steam the soy meat instead of browning it.
Flavor stand-ins for the shallot
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coconut, milk, sugar, turmeric, coriander, garlic, peanut oil):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Shallotthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against coconut, milk, sugar, turmeric, coriander, garlic, peanut oil. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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