Name: Spicy Thai Coconut Quinoa Recipe
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 2/3 cups fresh cilantro (from about 1/2 bunch), long, thick stems removed; 3/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts; 1/3 cup Sriracha hot sauce; 2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest (from about 3 medium limes); 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from about 3 medium limes); 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil; 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar; 2 medium garlic cloves; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; 2 cups quinoa , any color or variety; 1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk; 1 1/3 cups vegetable stock or low-sodium vegetable broth; 1 teaspoon kosher salt , plus more as needed; 1 (14- to 16-ounce) package firm tofu; 2 medium carrots (about 8 ounces); 1 medium broccoli head (about 1 pound); 4 medium scallions; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; Coarsely chopped fresh cilantro; Coarsely chopped roasted, unsalted peanuts; Thinly sliced scallions

Why it works: Peanut and sesame match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 349 recipes. Both carry 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. 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.

Peanut + sesametop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together349 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Peanut + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together877 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Sesame + garlictop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,000 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Peanut + limetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together458 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Lime + sesametop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together431 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).

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

Swap the sriracha

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peanut, sauce, lime, sesame, sugar, garlic, clove):

Gingerfits better
Corianderfits better
Cuminfits better
Srirachathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against peanut, sauce, lime, sesame, sugar, garlic, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Coconut	1/2 cup shredded (40g)	283
Quinoa	1 cup cooked (185g)	222
Peanut	1 oz (28g)	161
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tofu	100g firm	76
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Sriracha	1 tsp (5g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Spicy Thai Coconut Quinoa Recipe