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Mexicali Franks

A skillet dish of frankfurters simmered with tomatoes, beans, rice, salsa, and cheese.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 12 ingredients
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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 ↓

Mexicali Franks

Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the rice and beans

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.

  2. Add the frankfurters and sauté until browned.

  3. Remove the frankfurters from the pan with a slotted spoon and place them on one side of a serving platter, keeping them warm.

  4. Add the onion and garlic to the drippings in the skillet and sauté for 2 minutes.

  5. Add the diced tomatoes and their liquid, the pinto beans and their liquid, the rice, chili powder, salsa, and water.

  6. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer covered for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked.

Serve

  1. Spoon the rice mixture next to the frankfurters on the platter.

  2. Sprinkle shredded Monterey Jack cheese over the rice.

  3. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

639Calories
22 gProtein
24 gFat
85 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 13 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Pinto Bean1/2 cup (86g) canned122
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Saladnot in our table0
Frankfurternot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

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.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Tomato + beanstop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,713 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  4. Beans + ricetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,017 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Garlic + jalapenotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,700 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Frankfurters
Browned in the oil to add savory flavor and a seared surface.
Long-grain rice
Absorbs liquid as it simmers, becoming tender and giving the dish its body.
Pinto beans
Add starch and substance, thickening the mixture as their liquid cooks down.
Diced tomatoes
Provide moisture and acidity that cook into the rice as the sauce forms.
Chili powder
Adds warm, earthy aroma and heat to the sauce.
Monterey jack cheese
Melts over the hot rice, adding fat, creaminess and mild flavor.

The step that matters

Simmer covered until the rice is cooked. Rice absorbs the liquid as it cooks. Lifting the lid lets steam escape and can leave the rice unevenly cooked or dry, so keep it covered and check that the grains are tender.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, tomato, beans, rice, cheese, jalapeno):

  1. Cuminfits better
  2. Corianderfits better
  3. Oreganofits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, tomato, beans, rice, cheese, jalapeno. 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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