Name: Spicy Shrimp and Oranges or Clementines
Ingredients: 1½ pounds peeled shrimp; ½ to 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced; ½ teaspoon sugar or substitute; 2 large navel oranges or 4 clementines, peeled and sectioned; ½ teaspoon ground cumin; 3 tablespoons lime juice; 1 tablespoon oil; ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Why it works: Cumin and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,216 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Spicy Shrimp and Oranges or Clementines

Ingredients

1½ pounds peeled shrimp
½ to 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
½ teaspoon sugar or substitute
2 large navel oranges or 4 clementines, peeled and sectioned
½ teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

Prepare

Toss the shrimp with the minced chipotle (use ½ of the chile for mild heat and a whole one for more fiery flavor) and sugar; set aside.
Toss the oranges or clementines with the cumin and lime juice.

Cook

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high.
Add the shrimp in a single layer, taking care not to crowd the pan. If necessary, use 2 skillets.
Cook the shrimp until they are lightly browned on the undersides, about 2 minutes.
Turn them over and then place the orange sections on top of the shrimp.
After 2 minutes, when the shrimp are seared on the undersides, toss the mixture and continue cooking 1 more minute, or until the orange pieces are softened and have released juices into the pan.
Remove from the heat, stir in the cilantro and serve.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

357Calories

26 gProtein

15 gFat

34 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 10 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Sauce	not in our table	0
Clementine	not in our table	0

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.

Cumin + limetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,216 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Orange + limetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together937 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Orange + cumintop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together317 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Sauce + sugartop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,147 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Shrimp + limetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together808 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Shrimp: Provides the main protein, which sears to a browned, savory surface in the hot skillet.
Chipotle chile: Adds smoky, spicy heat that flavours the shrimp.
Navel oranges or clementines: Softens in the pan and releases juice that adds sweetness and acidity to the sauce.
Lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the citrus and balances the sweetness and heat.
Sugar: Adds sweetness that balances the chile's heat and helps the shrimp brown.

The step that matters

Avoid crowding the pan when searing the shrimp. Crowded shrimp release moisture and steam instead of browning. Cooking in a single layer, in two skillets if needed, lets the surface brown and develop flavour.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, sauce, sugar, cumin, lime):

Avocadofits better
Mangofits better
Lemonfits better
Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, sauce, sugar, cumin, lime. 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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Spicy Shrimp and Oranges or Clementines