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Yu Xiang Cao Dan

A stir-fry of pork, black fungus, and egg flavored with soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 22 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Yu Xiang Cao Dan

Time5 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash lean pork, shred into small pieces, marinate with seasoning 1.

  2. Soak and clean dry black fungus, parboil in boiled water for 5 minutes.

  3. Drain water, cut black fungus into small pieces, set aside.

  4. Whisk eggs with 1/4 of salt and 1 tbsp of oil.

Cook and serve

  1. Heat wok with 2 tbsp of oil, fry egg both sides until golden, serve.

  2. Heat wok with 2 tbsp of oil, add mashed ginger and garlic, stir-fry for a while.

  3. Add shredded pork and broadbean paste, stir-fry in high heat until cooked.

  4. Pour in black fungus and seasoning 2, stir well until almost dry.

  5. Add chopped spring onion and sauce, stir-fry, serve on egg's surface.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

841Calories
67 gProtein
50 gFat
27 gCarbs

Counts 13 of 15 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Chicken100g cooked165
Sesame1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Saucenot in our table0
Waternot 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. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Pork + chickentop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,417 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  3. Ginger + garlictop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

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

  4. Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  5. Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set and turn golden when fried, and form the base the stir-fry is served on.
Lean pork
Provides the main protein; cooking it in high heat firms and browns the meat.
Dry black fungus
Adds a crunchy, springy texture once soaked and parboiled.
Broadbean paste
Adds salty, savoury depth and colour to the stir-fried sauce.
Cornflour
Thickens the sauce and helps it cling to the pork and fungus.

The step that matters

Frying the egg both sides until golden. Too little heat or too much turning can leave the egg tearing or pale; steady heat sets the proteins so the layer holds together under the stir-fry.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, pork, onion, garlic, sauce, chicken, vinegar):

  1. Capersfits about as well
  2. Tarragonfits about as well
  3. Thymefits about as well
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, pork, onion, garlic, sauce, chicken, vinegar. 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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