Why it works: Rice and tomato match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,065 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Vegetable Rice II
Ingredients
Directions
Fry onions in margarine for 5 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients except rice and cook for 25 minutes.
Stir in cooked curried rice and serve immediately.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Bell Pepper | 1 medium (119g) | 31 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Mushroom | 1/2 cup sliced (35g) | 15 |
| Chili | 1 tsp (2.7g) | 8 |
| Salt | 1 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.
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.
-
Rice + tomatotop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,065 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Mushroom + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,719 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Pepper + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,923 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,633 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
-
Rice + mushroomtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,515 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cooked curried rice
- Forms the bulk of the dish and carries the curry flavour through it.
- Margarine
- Adds fat that carries flavour and helps the onions soften and brown.
- Onion
- Softens and turns sweet and aromatic when fried in fat.
- Mushrooms
- Release moisture as they cook, adding savoury depth.
- Tomato paste
- Concentrates tomato flavour and adds acidity and colour.
- Tomato
- Breaks down during cooking, adding moisture and gentle acidity.
The step that matters
Cooking the vegetables for 25 minutes. Mushrooms, peppers and tomato release water over a long simmer. If the pan is too wet or the heat too high, the vegetables turn soft and steam instead of gently cooking, so the dish becomes watery and loses texture.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, mushroom, pepper, tomato):
- Capsicumfits better
- Spinachfits better
- Carrotfits better
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, mushroom, pepper, tomato. 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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