Name: Soto Chili Sauce
Ingredients: 6 red chilies, boiled; 10 bird's eye chilies, boiled; 1 clove garlic, fried; 3 candlenuts, fried; salt to taste; a pinch of sugar; lime juice

Why it works: Clove and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 909 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Soto Chili Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Grind or pound the red chilies, bird's eye chilies, garlic and candlenuts together until it forms a paste. Add the salt and sugar.
Last, add 3 Tbs. water and lime juice to taste. Serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

64Calories

0 gProtein

0 gFat

17 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
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.

Clove + limetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together909 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Garlic + limetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,411 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,368 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Clove + sugartop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together17,182 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar + limetop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,332 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Clove and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 17,182 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

Red chilies: Provide the main chili flavor and heat that define the sauce.
Bird's eye chilies: Add sharper, hotter chili heat to the paste.
Candlenuts: Add richness and body, thickening the paste as it is pounded.
Lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the richness.