Name: Chop Suey
Ingredients: 1 cup cold chicken; 1 tablespoon butter; 1 tablespoon chinese 'suey sauce; 2 pounds fat corned beef; 1 pound cold boiled potatoes; 2 ounces butter; 2 onions; 76 old country recipes; 1 onion all chopped very fine; 1 large white onion; salt; pepper

Why it works: Potato and onion are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,023 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. 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.

Potato + oniontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,023 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Chicken + beeftop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,148 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Beef + oniontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,092 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,756 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
Beef + potatotop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,052 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

What each ingredient does

Chicken: Provides the main protein and bulk of the dish, giving it a substantial, meaty body.
Butter: Adds fat that carries flavor and gives a rich, smooth mouthfeel.
Onions: Release sweetness and aroma as they cook slowly, building savory depth.
Chinese 'suey sauce: Adds concentrated savory and salty flavor that seasons the mixture.

The step that matters

Cover and cook slowly until done. Gentle, covered cooking traps steam so the mixture stays moist while the onions soften and sweeten. Cooking too fast or uncovered can dry out or scorch the bottom before the flavors blend.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, butter, sauce, beef, potato, pepper):

Onionthe original
Tomatofits about as well
Capsicumfits about as well
Asparagusfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, butter, sauce, beef, potato, 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

Chop Suey

Chop Suey

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)