Name: Jambalaya II
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 3 lbs (1400 g ) cooked chicken strips; 1 cup (240 ml ) chopped onion; 1 cup (240 ml) chopped green bell pepper; 2 ribs celery , chopped; 2 cloves garlic , minced; ½ cup (120 ml) diced cooked ham; 2 cans (29 ounces / 800 g total) stewed tomatoes; 2 cups (480 ml) chicken broth; 1 cup (240 ml) uncooked long grain rice; 3 Tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp thyme , crumbled; ½ tsp paprika; 1 ½ tsp salt, or to taste; ¼ tsp pepper

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 ↓

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.

Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Celery + tomatotop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Pepper + celerytop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together16,012 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

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

What each ingredient does

Long grain rice: Absorbs the broth and tomato liquid as it cooks, becoming tender and filling the dish.
Stewed tomatoes: Supply acidity and liquid that flavour the rice as it simmers.
Chicken broth: Provides the cooking liquid that the rice absorbs while it simmers.
Cooked chicken strips: Add browned savoury flavour and substance to the dish.
Chopped onion: Softens and sweetens as it sautés, forming the flavour base.
Diced cooked ham: Adds salty, smoky meat flavour that seasons the rice.

The step that matters

Simmer covered at low heat without lifting the lid. Rice absorbs the liquid and cooks through only if the steam stays trapped; lifting the lid lets moisture escape and can leave the grains firm or the bottom scorched.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, onion, pepper, celery, garlic, ham, tomato):

Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Basilfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, onion, pepper, celery, garlic, ham, tomato. 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
Pork	100g cooked	242
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Green Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Jambalaya II

Jambalaya II

Ingredients

Directions

Brown the chicken

Build the base

Simmer

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)