Name: Mole-rubbed Chicken with Confetti Corn Relish
Ingredients: vegetable cooking spray; 2 tbsp light brown sugar; 1½ tsp chili powder; 1½ tsp garlic powder; 1½ tsp unsweetened cocoa; ½ tsp kosher salt; ½ tsp cracked black pepper; ¼ tsp Saigon cinnamon; 4 (5-oz) skinned and boned chicken breasts; Confetti Corn Relish (recipe follows); garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs

Why it works: Garlic and chicken are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,850 recipes. Both carry 3-ethyl-2,5-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.

Garlic + chickentop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,850 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cinnamon + corntop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together647 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Pepper + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together4,890 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Light brown sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the rub caramelize and brown on the grill.
Unsweetened cocoa: Adds deep color and bittersweet richness that supports the mole flavor.
Chili powder: Adds warmth and earthy heat that defines the rub's flavor.
Chicken breasts: Main protein; lean meat that dries out quickly, so cooking time matters.
Saigon cinnamon: Adds sweet aromatic warmth that rounds out the mole-style flavor.

The step that matters

Grilling the chicken. Chicken breasts are lean and dry out quickly when overcooked, while the sugar in the rub can scorch over high heat. Checking for doneness at the end of the stated time helps keep the meat juicy and the coating from burning.

Swap the cocoa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, garlic, pepper, cinnamon, chicken, corn):

Chickpeafits better
Beansfits better
Cashew nutfits better
Cocoathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, garlic, pepper, cinnamon, chicken, corn. 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
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Relish	not in our table	0

Mole-rubbed Chicken with Confetti Corn Relish