Why it works: Onion and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,433 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Lobster Curry
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the curry base
Melt the butter in a stewpan and fry the sliced onions until light yellow.
Mix in the curry paste (or powder and paste) and add the broth.
Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened.
Finish and bake
Add the lobster pieces and stir well.
Cover the stewpan and place it in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 30 minutes.
Once cooked, add lemon juice and serve with rice.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
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.
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Onion + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together10,433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Lemon + ricetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + ricetop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lobster flesh
- Provides the main protein and sweet, delicate seafood flavour that the curry sauce surrounds.
- Onions
- Soften and turn sweet as they fry, building the body and flavour base of the sauce.
- Butter
- Carries the curry spices and adds richness to the frying base.
- Curry paste
- Supplies the main curry spice flavour and aroma to the broth.
- Broth
- Forms the liquid of the sauce, which thickens as it cooks down.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the rich curry and balances its flavour.
The step that matters
Cooking the lobster in the covered oven. Lobster turns firm and rubbery when overcooked, and the 30 minutes in the oven is long for delicate seafood. Covering the pot keeps steam in so the pieces cook gently in the sauce.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lobster, onion, butter, rice):
- Coconutfits better
- Avocadofits about as well
- Grapefits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lobster, onion, butter, rice. 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.
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