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Salad

Slaphakskeentjies I

A South African salad of pickled onions topped with a thickened egg and mustard custard.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and mustard match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,259 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Slaphakskeentjies I

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the onions

  1. Cook onions in boiling water with a little salt until tender, but not sloppy. Drain and place in a bowl.

Make the sauce

  1. Boil vinegar and water.

  2. Whisk eggs with sugar, mustard and salt until foamy.

  3. Slowly pour the boiling vinegar and water into the eggs, stirring all the time.

  4. Return to the heat, simmer gently, stirring all the time until it thickens.

Assemble and serve

  1. Pour over onions.

  2. Serve cooled.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

177Calories
8 gProtein
6 gFat
24 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Mustard1 tsp (5g) yellow3
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot 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 + mustardtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,259 recipes

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

  2. Mustard + vinegartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Onion + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,226 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  4. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + mustardtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,424 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Thicken the sauce into a custard-like dressing as they set with gentle heat.
Pickling onions
Form the main body of the salad, becoming tender when cooked in boiling water.
White vinegar
Provides sharp acidity that balances the sugar and richness of the egg sauce.
White sugar
Adds sweetness to offset the sharpness of the vinegar.

The step that matters

Adding the hot vinegar and water to the eggs. Pouring boiling liquid into eggs too fast can scramble them. Pour slowly while whisking constantly so the eggs warm gradually and the sauce thickens smoothly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, mustard, vinegar):

  1. Horseradishfits better
  2. Cucumberfits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, mustard, vinegar. 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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