Why it works: Chicken and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,172 recipes. Both carry 1-butyl acetate, which smells fruity, banana. The science ↓
Four Kinds of Vegetable
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the vegetables
Simmer baby corn and cabbage in soup stock for two minutes. Season with salt.
Drain, preserving the stock.
Simmer tomatoes in the soup stock for 2 minutes.
Peel and cut into halves.
Make the mushrooms
Stir-fry black mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of hot oil. Season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and cook for 1/2 minute.
Mix cornstarch with 1/2 teaspoon of water. Add mixture to mushrooms and cook for another 1/2 minute.
Serve
Group each vegetable on a plate, forming a circle.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Corn | 1/2 cup kernels (82g) | 77 |
| Plum | 1 medium (66g) | 30 |
| Green Cabbage | 1 cup shredded (89g) | 22 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Mushroom | 1/2 cup sliced (35g) | 15 |
| Soy Sauce | 1 tbsp (15ml) | 9 |
| 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.
-
Chicken + mushroomtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,172 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).
-
Corn + tomatotop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,099 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Plum + tomatotop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,480 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Mushroom + tomatotop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,719 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,031 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Baby corn
- Adds crisp-tender texture and mild sweetness to the dish.
- Chinese green cabbage
- Adds tender body and absorbs flavour from the stock.
- Black mushrooms
- Browned in hot oil, they add savoury depth and a meaty texture.
- Plum tomatoes
- Add acidity and juiciness, balancing the savoury vegetables.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the mushroom sauce into a light glossy coating.
- Chicken stock
- Provides the cooking liquid that flavours the vegetables.
The step that matters
Stir-frying the mushrooms in hot oil. Oil must be hot enough to brown the mushrooms rather than steam them. Adding soy sauce and then the cornstarch mixture too early or in too much liquid can make the coating watery or stop it from clinging properly.
Swap the cabbage
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, chicken, mushroom, sauce, plum, tomato):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Cabbagethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, chicken, mushroom, sauce, plum, 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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