Name: Batter for Chicken, Shrimp, Fish
Ingredients: 1/2 lb. flour; 1 tsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. butter; 1/2 tsp. ammonia powder; salt and sugar; water to make thick consistency

Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Batter for Chicken, Shrimp, Fish

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for ½ hour or more. (If you do not have ammonia, double the baking powder.)
Use the batter for frying fish, chicken, shrimp, or vegetables. For chicken, follow the steps below.

Prepare the chicken

In a large pot, boil water with spices. When the water begins to boil, add the chicken pieces.
When the water boils again, remove the pot from the heat and let the chicken stand for ½ hour.

Coat and fry

Drain the chicken and dip it in the batter to coat well. Deep fry the chicken.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

606Calories

13 gProtein

13 gFat

108 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	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.

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.

Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together92,116 recipes

Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Flour: Forms the main structure of the batter, which sets into a crisp coating when fried.
Baking powder: Releases gas as it heats, helping the batter puff and turn lighter when fried.
Butter: Adds fat, which contributes flavor and helps the coating brown.
Ammonia powder: Acts as a leavening agent, adding lift to the batter; baking powder can replace it.

The step that matters

Drain the chicken and dip it in the batter to coat well.. A thin, even coat clings to the chicken and fries into a crisp crust. Draining first keeps excess water from thinning the batter and making the coating slide off in the hot oil.

“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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Batter for Chicken, Shrimp, Fish