Name: Small Plates: Four Easy Japanese Izakaya Dishes
Yield: 4 to 6 as an appetizer, or a dozen at a party
Ingredients: 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 4 thighs), trimmed of excess fat, and cut into rough 1-inch chunks; 2 cloves garlic, finely minced on microplane or pressed through garlic press; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger; 1 quart peanut oil; 1/4 cup corn starch; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; Salt and freshly cracked black pepper; 1 scallion, sliced fine, slices stored in ice water until ready to use (optional); 1 lemon, cut into wedges; 2 cups dashi (see recipe, bottom); 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 3 tablespoons mirin; One (12.3-ounce) package of firm or extra-firm silken-style tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes; 1/4 cup corn starch; 1/4 cup all-purpose flour; 1 quart peanut oil; Salt; 2 scallions, sliced fine, slices stored in ice water until ready to use (optional); Large pinch katsuobushi (dried, shaved bonito) (optional); 1 tablespoon white or light red miso paste; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (preferably Japanese Kewpie-style); 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 tablespoon dashi; 1 pound sashimi-grade tuna, cut into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes; 1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes; 2 scallions, sliced thin; 1/4 cup picked cilantro leaves; 1 pound Japanese eggplant (about 3 medium); 1 tablespoon olive oil

Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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 + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ginger + peppertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,800 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ginger + corntop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together412 recipes

Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
Corn + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,324 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, sauce, ginger, peanut oil, corn, flour, pepper):

Turmericfits better
Cuminfits better
Garlicfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, sauce, ginger, peanut oil, corn, flour, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Avocado	1 medium (150g)	240
Salmon	100g cooked	208
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Peanut Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Tofu	100g firm	76
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Eggplant	1 cup cubed (82g)	35
Miso	1 tbsp (18g)	34
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Katsuobushi	not in our table	0
Bonito	not in our table	0

Small Plates: Four Easy Japanese Izakaya Dishes