Name: Chinese Pepper Steak II
Ingredients: 1 pound flank steak -- diagonally sliced; 1/4 cup soy sauce; 2 tablespoons dry sherry; 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 teaspoons cornstarch; 1/4 cup water; 2 tablespoons oil; 4 cloves garlic -- chopped; 2 teaspoons ginger root -- peeled, grated; 2 scallions -- chopped; 2 tablespoons oil; 1 large onion; 2 green peppers -- sliced

Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 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.

Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,402 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 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

Flank steak: Provides the main protein; slicing across the grain keeps the meat tender when cooked quickly.
Cornstarch: Thickens the reserved marinade into a glossy sauce when heated.
Soy sauce: Adds salt and savory depth to the marinade and sauce.
Green peppers: Add crisp texture and fresh, slightly bitter flavor that contrasts with the beef.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma that blooms in the hot oil at the start of cooking.

The step that matters

Stir until thickened and bubbly. Cornstarch must reach a boil to thicken fully; stopping early leaves the sauce thin and cloudy, while cooking too long can break it down.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sauce, sherry, sugar, clove, garlic, ginger, pepper):

Capsicumfits better
Shallotfits better
Carrotfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sauce, sherry, sugar, clove, garlic, ginger, pepper. 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
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Beef	100g cooked	250
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Water	not in our table	0

Chinese Pepper Steak II