Name: Barbecued Chilean Sea Bass with Orange
Ingredients: 1 lb Chilean Sea Bass fillet - (to 1 1/2 lbs) bones removed, cut into serving pieces; 3/4 cup Orange Juice; 3 tbl Tomato Paste; 2 tbl Vegetable Oil; 2 tbl vinegar; 1 tbl Brown Sugar or honey; 2 x garlic cloves minced or pressed; 1 tsp grated Orange Zest; 1 tsp Ginger ground; 1/2 tsp dried hot Red Pepper flakes

Why it works: Tomato and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,076 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. 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.

Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Orange + gingertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,833 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,402 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,923 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 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

Chilean sea bass: Firm, flaky fish that holds its shape over direct heat and stays moist.
Tomato paste: Adds concentrated savory flavor and color, and helps the marinade cling and brown.
Orange juice: Adds acidity and sweetness that balance the marinade and contribute to browning.
Brown sugar or honey: Adds sweetness and helps the surface caramelize and brown on the grill.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the marinade and tenderizes the fish surface slightly.

The step that matters

Grill or broil the fish about 4 inches from the heat. Sugars in the marinade brown quickly, so the surface can scorch before the centre cooks. Watch the browning and turn the fish once it is well coloured, then cook until the centre is no longer opaque.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, vinegar, sugar, garlic, ginger, pepper):

Limefits better
Lemonfits better
Cherryfits better
Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, vinegar, sugar, garlic, ginger, pepper. 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2

Barbecued Chilean Sea Bass with Orange