Name: Spicy Pepper Steak
Ingredients: 1 lb lean beef, cut in thin strips; 2 cups carrots, sliced diagonal strips; 1-2 Green Pepper, sliced in strips; 1 large Yellow Onion, sliced; 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed; 1/4 cup Soy Sauce; 2 tablespoons crushed Red Pepper flakes; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 pinch salt and pepper

Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Spicy Pepper Steak

Ingredients

1 lb lean beef, cut in thin strips
2 cups carrots, sliced diagonal strips
1-2 Green Pepper, sliced in strips
1 large Yellow Onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons crushed Red Pepper flakes
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt and pepper

Directions

Cook

Combine ingredients in frying pan (no oil required).
Cook over medium heat, keep covered, stirring occasionally until veggies are tender.
Note: If you prefer your green peppers to be crispier than the carrots, add them in a little later.

Serve

Serve over rice (also makes a great fajita).

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

426Calories

30 gProtein

16 gFat

39 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 10 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
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.

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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Carrot + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,873 recipes

Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 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

Lean beef: Provides the main protein, which browns and firms as it cooks through.
Soy sauce: Adds salty, savoury depth and helps season the beef and vegetables.
Garlic: Contributes pungent aroma that deepens as it cooks in the pan.
Red pepper flakes: Supplies the heat that defines the spicy character of the dish.
Sugar: Balances the heat and salt with a touch of sweetness.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, carrot, pepper, onion, garlic, sauce, sugar):

Cuminfits better
Parsleyfits better
Celeryfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, carrot, pepper, onion, garlic, sauce, sugar. 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.