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Paprika Chicken Stew

A stew of chicken pieces cooked with paprika, onions, tomato, green pepper, and lard.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and pepper are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 17,923 recipes. Both carry 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells earthy, pea. The science ↓

Paprika Chicken Stew

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a pot, combine the chicken pieces, chopped onions, lard, chopped tomato, chopped green pepper, and salt.

  2. Steam slowly, adding a little water to create a nice gravy.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  2. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  5. Onion + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together68,474 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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, as it cooks, releases juices that form the base of the gravy.
Paprika
Adds a sweet, earthy red colour and flavour to the stew.
Lard
Adds fat that carries flavour and helps the pieces brown and stay moist.
Onions
Soften as they cook, adding sweetness and body to the gravy.
Green pepper
Softens as it steams, adding a fresh, slightly bitter vegetable flavour.
Tomato
Adds acidity and moisture that blends into the gravy.

The step that matters

Steam slowly, adding a little water. Low, gentle heat lets the chicken and vegetables release their juices slowly, which builds a gravy without scorching. Adding water only as needed keeps the sauce from becoming thin or sticking to the pot.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, tomato, pepper):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Okrafits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, tomato, 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.

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