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Qi Cai Cao Dan

A stir-fry of eggs, preserved and salty duck eggs, tomatoes, and parsley seasoned with soy sauce and cornflour.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,398 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Qi Cai Cao Dan

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Remove dirt from the salty duck eggs, steam them with shells on until cooked, then remove the shells.

  2. Chop the cooked salty egg into small dice, both white and yolk.

  3. Remove dirt from the preserved duck egg, remove the shell and chop into small dice.

  4. Clean the tomato, remove all seeds and chop into small dice.

Cook the tomato

  1. Heat a wok with 2 tbsp oil and stir-fry the tomato dice for 2 minutes.

  2. Dish up the tomato with sauce, add 2 tbsp cornflour and stir well.

Make the egg and serve

  1. Remove the shell and whisk the egg, then add the seasoning, all the dice and the tomato, and whisk.

  2. Heat a wok with 3 tbsp oil and pour in the whisked and mixed egg.

  3. Stir-fry until cooked, dish up and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

566Calories
27 gProtein
47 gFat
7 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Duck100g cooked with skin337
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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. Tomato + parsleytop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,398 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Tomato + saucetop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,469 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Egg + parsleytop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,765 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  4. Parsley + saucetop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,693 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Egg + tomatotop 34% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,890 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Coagulate when heated to set the mixture into a soft, tender, custard-like texture.
Preserved duck egg
Adds a strong, savoury, pungent flavour and a firmer texture to the dish.
Salty duck egg
Contributes salty, rich flavour and fat from its yolk.
Tomato
Adds moisture, mild acidity and sweetness that brighten the rich egg.

The step that matters

Stir-fry the whisked egg until just set. Egg proteins set with heat, so cooking too long or too hot makes the egg tough and dry, while stopping too early leaves it runny.

Swap the tomato

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, parsley, sauce):

  1. Shallotfits better
  2. Chivefits better
  3. Horseradishfits better
  4. Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, parsley, sauce. 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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