Name: Moqueca De Peixe
Yield: 5
Ingredients: 1 kg fresh white fish , cut into two finger-wide strips/slices; 1 lemon , juiced; 2 mid-sized onions , cut into circular slices; 2 bell peppers (one red, one green), cut into circular slices; 1 clove of garlic , pressed; 4 ripe tomatoes , optionally skinned then chopped; 4 cilantro stems with leaves, finely chopped; 12 tablespoons Azeite de dendê (a very tasty, heavy, saffron-colored palm oil , which may not be omitted under any circumstances); 200 ml coconut milk; Salt; 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).
Lemon + saffrontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together538 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Lemon + peppertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together14,076 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together369 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

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

What each ingredient does

Fresh white fish: Forms the main protein; firm strips hold their shape through gentle simmering.
Azeite de dendê: Palm oil that gives the stew its rich fat, distinctive flavor, and saffron color.
Coconut milk: Adds fat and creaminess, mellowing the acidity of the tomatoes and lemon.
Tomatoes: Provide moisture and acidity that, with the simmering liquid, form the stew's sauce.
Onions: Release sweetness and body into the broth as they cook down.
Lemon juice: Acidity that firms the fish surface during marinating and brightens the stew.

The step that matters

Boiling with the fish layered in the pot. Vigorous boiling breaks delicate fish apart. Gentle simmering and careful ladling keep the fish intact while the liquid thickens and flavors penetrate.

Swap the tomato

The recipe marks tomato as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish, lemon, onion, pepper, clove, garlic, saffron):

Spinachfits better
Chivefits about as well
Shallotfits about as well
Tomatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish, lemon, onion, pepper, clove, garlic, saffron. 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
Coconut	1/2 cup shredded (40g)	283
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Moqueca De Peixe

Moqueca De Peixe

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Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)