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Chicken with Tomato Sauce

A chicken dish simmered in tomato sauce with onions, celery, and hot pepper.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and celery are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,377 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Chicken with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Fry the chicken in hot oil until golden.

  2. Remove pieces and cook onions in the same pot.

  3. When they, too, are golden brown, return chicken pieces to the pot and add tomatoes, celery, salt and hot pepper.

  4. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

370Calories
34 gProtein
18 gFat
19 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Celery1 stalk (40g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pimentonot 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. Tomato + celerytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,377 recipes

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

  2. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

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

  3. Onion + celerytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 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
Forms the main protein; frying first browns the surface and builds flavour in the pot.
Onion
Browns in the rendered oil and adds sweetness and savoury depth to the sauce.
Tomatoes
Provide the liquid and acidity that form the sauce and tenderise the chicken as it simmers.
Celery
Adds a mild, fresh vegetable flavour and a little texture to the sauce.

The step that matters

Brown the chicken until golden. Browning creates flavour through the Maillard reaction. Pale chicken makes a bland sauce, and crowding the pot causes steaming instead of browning, so fry in batches if needed.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, tomato, celery, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Carrotfits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, tomato, celery, 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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