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 ↓
Sauce Pimente for Aloco
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the sauce base
Fry the onions with a generous amount of oil in a medium pot.
While they are browning, pour a bowl full of water and squish the tomatoes into the water to make a juice.
Let tomato mixture sit awhile.
Add garlic to onions.
When onions are opaque and slightly brown, pour tomato water into pot.
Cook and finish
Add eggplant, hot peppers and bouillon to taste.
Boil until the eggplant is soft enough to smash and most of the water has boiled off.
Smash the mixture with a fork or puree in a food processor.
The finished product should be about the consistency of applesauce.
If it is too thin, boil more water off.
Salt to taste.
If a more tomatoey sauce is desired, add about one to two tablespoons of tomato paste.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Onion | 1 medium (110g) | 44 |
| Eggplant | 1 cup cubed (82g) | 35 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| 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.
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 pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together29,058 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Garlic + eggplanttop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together801 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
-
Tomato + eggplanttop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together651 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,076 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,850 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tomatoes
- Their juice forms the liquid base, adding acidity and bright tomato flavor to the sauce.
- Onion
- Frying until opaque and slightly browned builds sweetness and savory depth in the base.
- Eggplant
- Softens as it cooks and breaks down into the thick body of the sauce.
- Hot peppers
- Add heat and aroma to the sauce.
The step that matters
Reducing to the right consistency. Boiling off water concentrates flavor and thickens the sauce. Stopping too early leaves it thin and watery, while over-reducing makes it pasty and intensely salty once the bouillon concentrates.
Swap the eggplant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, onion, garlic, pepper, chicken):
- Capsicumfits better
- Potatofits better
- Okrafits better
- Eggplantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, onion, garlic, pepper, 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.
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