Name: Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Cook time: 2 h
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1/2 medium onion , medium dice (about 3/4 cup); 1/2 small carrot , peeled and medium dice (about 1/4 cup); 1/2 medium celery stalk, medium dice (about 1/4 cup); 1/2 medium red bell pepper , medium dice (about 1/4 cup); 1 medium garlic clove , minced; 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; 1 teaspoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 4 cups (1 quart) stock or low-sodium chicken broth; 1 cup water; 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes; 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt , plus more as needed; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper , plus more as needed; 4 to 5 (6-inch) corn tortillas , cut into 1/2-inch pieces; 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil; 4 (6-inch) corn tortillas; Kosher salt; Freshly ground black pepper; 1 1/2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (about 8 ounces); 1/2 cup heavy cream; Kosher salt; Freshly ground black pepper; Shredded Monterey Jack cheese; Thinly sliced scallions; Sour cream

Why it works: Coriander and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,866 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Carrot + celerytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,173 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Carrot + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together777 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,082 recipes

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

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (carrot, celery, pepper, garlic, clove, coriander, cumin):

Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits better
Parsnipfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against carrot, celery, pepper, garlic, clove, coriander, cumin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Corn Tortilla	1 medium flour (45g)	140
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Tomato	1 medium (123g)	22
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Celery	1 stalk (40g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Coriander	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe