Why it works: Sesame and sweetcorn work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and 13 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, which smells clove, smoky. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 1Ingredients
Contains: sesame (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Cut the half chicken breast into thin strips and season them with a pinch of paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Cut the kernels off the half ear of sweetcorn. Finely chop the half onion and mince the garlic.
Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until golden and cooked through to 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part. Remove to a plate.
Lower the heat to medium. Add the chopped half onion, garlic and sweetcorn to the pan and fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until the corn is lightly browned.
Return the chicken to the pan, season with a little salt and pepper, and toss for 2 minutes until hot.
Finely chop the quarter onion. Halve the avocado, remove the stone and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Mash it with the juice of the half lemon, the chopped onion, the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
Stir about 2 tablespoons of the chopped coriander into the guacamole and keep the rest for garnish.
Spoon the chicken and sweetcorn onto a plate, add the guacamole alongside, and scatter the remaining coriander on top to serve.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Sesame + sweetcorntop 11% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together13 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
-
Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together29,030 recipes
Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
-
Olive + garlictop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23,449 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Sesame + avocadotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together92 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Olive + avocadotop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,376 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the avocado
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sesame, olive, onion, garlic, chicken, sweetcorn, pepper):
- Avocadothe original
- Limeabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against sesame, olive, onion, garlic, chicken, sweetcorn, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.