Why it works: Chicken and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,814 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
Ja Fu Ru Ji
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and wipe dry chicken, chop into bite-size cubes.
Mash white bean curd cheese, add seasoning and mix well.
Marinate the chicken cubes with bean curd cheese paste for 10 minutes.
Shred red pepper, chop spring onion into short stalks.
Sprinkle some corn flour on chicken and mix well.
Fry and finish
Heat wok with plenty of oil, put chicken cubes into hot oil.
Deep fry chicken until it turns golden, dish up and wipe dry the oil.
Heat wok again with 1 tbsp of oil, add in red pepper and spring onion.
Stir fry for a few seconds, pour in fried chicken cubes.
Sprinkle some Shaoxing wine, stir fry and mix well, dish up and serve.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Cheese | 1 oz (28g) cheddar | 113 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Bean | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
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Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,814 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
-
Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together68,474 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Chicken + cheesetop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,936 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
-
Cheese + winetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together651 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Onion + cheesetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,849 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Chicken
- Frying in hot oil cooks the outside to a golden crust while the inside stays tender.
- White bean curd cheese
- Its salty, fermented paste seasons the chicken during marinating and adds savory depth.
- Corn flour (in the method)
- A light coating that helps the chicken crisp and brown when fried.
- Shaoxing wine
- Adds aroma and a rounded flavor when stir fried with the chicken at the end.
The step that matters
Deep fry chicken until it turns golden. Chicken fried in hot oil browns and crisps on the outside; if the oil is not hot enough the coating absorbs oil and turns greasy, and overcrowding drops the oil temperature.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, pepper, cheese, sugar, wine):
- Capsicumfits better
- Tomatofits better
- Mustardfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, pepper, cheese, sugar, wine. 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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