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Sauce

Tirk Umpel

A Cambodian tamarind and fish sauce condiment with garlic and optional chili.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓

Tirk Umpel

Timea few minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sauce

  1. Boil water and tamarind for a few minutes, stirring.

  2. Add sugar, fish sauce, garlic, and hot chili pepper, then stir until the sugar dissolves.

Cool and season

  1. Remove from heat and let cool before serving.

  2. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

68Calories
1 gProtein
0 gFat
16 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Waternot in our table0
Tamarindnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

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 their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  2. Tamarind + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together145 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Tamarind + garlictop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together395 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,090 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 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

Tamarind pulp
Provides the sour, fruity acidity that defines the sauce.
Sugar
Balances the sourness and salt with sweetness.
Fish sauce
Adds salty, savory depth that rounds out the sauce.

The step that matters

Taste and adjust seasoning after cooling. Tamarind acidity, sugar sweetness and fish sauce saltiness shift as the sauce cools and sugar dissolves, so the balance can only be judged reliably at the end. Adjust with small additions until sour, sweet and salty are in balance.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, clove, pepper):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Gingerfits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, clove, 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.

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