Name: Chicken Chili Honduras
Ingredients: I; 1 ½ cups onion; 1 cup green pepper; 1 jalapeno; 3 cloves garlic; II; 2 Tbl chili powder; 2 tsp cumin; ½ tsp oregano; III; 4 cups raw chopped chicken; 1 cup water; ½ tsp red pepper; 12 oz bottle chili sauce (I never have that so I add some sweet pickle juice but you could use a little vinegar and sugar too); ¼ tsp black pepper; 1 Tbl worsteceshire sauce; 1 Tbl Dijon mustard; 14 oz can chopped tomatoes; 1 can chicken broth (or a couple boullion cubes in water)

Why it works: Cumin and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

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.

Cumin + oreganotop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together983 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Jalapeno + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together688 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Garlic + oreganotop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,756 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken: Provides the main protein, which becomes tender as it simmers in the sauce.
Onion: Softens during sauteing and adds sweetness and savory depth to the base.
Chili powder: Supplies the main chili flavor and warm aroma once it is cooked in oil.
Chopped tomatoes: Add moisture, body and acidity that help make up the chili's sauce.
Chicken broth: Adds liquid and savory flavor, helping the chili simmer into a cohesive sauce.
Chili sauce: Adds tangy, sweet and spiced flavor and thickens the sauce as it reduces.

The step that matters

Sauteing the first ingredients for the full 5 minutes. Cooking the onion, pepper and garlic in hot oil softens them and drives off raw sharp flavors, so the finished chili tastes sweet and rounded rather than harsh.

Swap the jalapeno

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, pepper, clove, garlic, cumin, oregano, chicken):

Thymefits better
Turmericfits better
Rosemaryfits better
Jalapenothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper, clove, garlic, cumin, oregano, chicken. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Mustard	1 tsp (5g) yellow	3
Water	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

Chicken Chili Honduras