Fish Sauce

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.

1. Mushroom + shallottop 4% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,982 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

2. Walnut + shallottop 6% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together440 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

3. Port wine + shallottop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together380 recipes

   Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

4. Port wine + mushroomtop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together570 recipes

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

5. Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together13,580 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Anchovies

Dissolve into the liquid to give the sauce its deep savoury, umami flavour.

Shallots

Soften during simmering and add a mild, sweet onion-like aroma.

Walnut pickle

Adds concentrated tangy, sweet-sour flavour that gives the sauce its character.

Port wine

Adds sweetness and depth, and its acidity balances the salty and savoury notes.

Mushroom catsup

Contributes concentrated earthy, savoury umami flavour.

The step that matters

Swap the walnut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (port wine, mushroom, shallot, sauce, pepper):

1. Chestnutfits better
2. Beansfits about as well
3. Walnutthe original
4. Peasfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against port wine, mushroom, shallot, sauce, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.