Why it works: Mango and shrimp share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and 90 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, green. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: soy, fish, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the dressing and mango
Combine green onions, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and chile in a bowl.
Mix in shredded mango.
Chill while preparing shrimp.
Prepare and grill the shrimp
Shell and devein shrimp and rinse well.
Divide shrimp into 4 portions.
Thread one portion of shrimp onto a slender metal skewer. Run a second skewer through the shrimp 1/2 to 1 inch from the first skewer to keep them flat.
Repeat with remaining shrimp.
Grill shrimp on a medium hot grill, covered, for about 3 minutes on each side, or until opaque but still a bit moist in the center of thickest parts.
Assemble and serve
Place greens on a platter.
Mound mango mixture onto the greens using a slotted spoon.
Place shrimp over the mango salad.
Garnish with lime slices, if desired.
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.
-
Mango + shrimptop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together90 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Mango + limetop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together506 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
-
Garlic + shrimptop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,546 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
-
Lime + fish saucetop 5% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together798 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mangoes
- Provide the sweet, juicy body of the salad and soften slightly when chilled with the dressing.
- Shrimp
- Supply the main protein, which firms and turns opaque when grilled.
- Lime juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sweetness of the mango.
- Fish sauce
- Adds savory depth and salty umami to the dressing.
- Serrano chile
- Adds heat and fresh pungency to the dressing.
The step that matters
Grilling the shrimp until just opaque. Shrimp cook quickly and turn rubbery when overcooked. Removing them as soon as they turn opaque, while the centre still looks slightly moist, keeps them tender.
Flavor stand-ins for the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mango, lime, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, shrimp):
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Tomatobetter flavor fit
- Potatobetter flavor fit
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mango, lime, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, shrimp. 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.
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.