Name: Shrimp and Sea Bass Ceviche
Yield: 8–12
Ingredients: 1 pound (450 g ) shrimp (16/20 per pound), peeled and cleaned; 2 pounds (900 g) meaty white fish , such as sea bass , boned and cut into large dice; 1 red onion , minced; 1 piece ginger , peeled and minced; 1 clove garlic , minced; ¼ Habañero or Scotch bonnet pepper , seeded and minced; 1 celery rib, minced; Salt; Black pepper; 5 lemons , juiced; 5 limes , juiced; 1 bunch cilantro , chopped; 2 ears of corn , grilled with husk on

Why it works: Ginger and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Clove + peppertop 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).
Ginger + garlictop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,402 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

What each ingredient does

Shrimp: Provides the main shellfish texture, firming briefly in hot water before the acid cooks the fish.
Sea bass: Supplies firm, flaky white fish whose texture is cooked and set by the citrus juices.
Lemons: Lime and lemon juice acidity denatures the proteins of the fish and shrimp, turning them opaque and firm.
Limes: Adds acidity that cooks the raw fish through marination and brightens the overall flavor.
Red onion: Contributes sharp pungency that mellows as it sits in the acidic marinade.

The step that matters

Poach the shrimp briefly and chill it quickly. Thirty seconds in hot water partly cooks the shrimp, and the ice bath stops cooking so it stays tender rather than rubbery. Overcooking toughens the proteins before the citrus has its effect.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, fish, onion, ginger, garlic, pepper, celery):

Turmericfits better
Cuminfits better
Parsleyfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, fish, onion, ginger, garlic, pepper, celery. 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
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Scotch	not in our table	0

Shrimp and Sea Bass Ceviche