Name: Stir Fried Seafood with Noodles
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 pack (500 g ) Hong Kong-style egg noodles , rehydrated and boiled if needed; 2 tbsp oil; 2 cloves garlic , crushed; 5 fishballs , cut into 1 cm pieces; 200 g shrimp , shells removed; 100 g cabbage , cut into bite-sized pieces; 2 scallions , cut into 1 cm pieces; 150 g bean sprouts , rinsed in hot water; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1 tbsp salt; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tbsp pepper; 2 tbsp fried onion

Why it works: Clove and pepper match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,451 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. 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.

Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,081 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Garlic + cabbagetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together635 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,368 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

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

What each ingredient does

Egg noodles: Form the bulk of the dish and absorb the sauce and oil as they heat.
Shrimp: Provide protein that turns opaque and firm when heated, adding savory sweetness.
Fishballs: Add a bouncy, springy texture that holds up well to stir frying.
Light soy sauce: Adds salty, savory flavor and helps color the noodles as they fry.
Bean sprouts: Contribute crisp, juicy texture that softens quickly when overheated.

The step that matters

Adding and mixing the bean sprouts. Bean sprouts wilt and release water within a minute of heat. Overcooking them makes the dish soggy, so they should be added last and only heated until hot.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, garlic, shrimp, cabbage, sauce, sugar, pepper):

Parsleyfits better
Capersfits better
Gingerfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, garlic, shrimp, cabbage, sauce, sugar, pepper. 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
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Bean	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Stir Fried Seafood with Noodles