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Sticky Sesame Cod with Japanese-style Broth

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Why it works: Sesame and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 939 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓

The recipe

Serves 1
Prep30 min
Cook30 min

Ingredients

Contains: soy, fish, 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.

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). In a small bowl, whisk the 2 tsp soy sauce, the honey and the sesame oil to make a glaze.

  2. Pat the cod dry and place it in a small oven dish. Brush the cod all over with the glaze and scatter the sesame seeds on top.

  3. Roast the cod for 12 to 15 minutes, until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily or reaches 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part.

  4. While the cod roasts, pour the chicken stock into a small saucepan with the 1 tbsp soy sauce and the chilli. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

  5. Add the peas to the simmering broth and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Add a splash of water if the broth reduces too much.

  6. Stir the coriander into the broth. Spoon the broth into a serving bowl, lay the sesame cod on top and serve hot.

By bbcfood. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Sesame + chickentop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together939 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).

  2. Sesame + honeytop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together527 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl pentanoate (yeast, fruit).

  3. Chicken + peastop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,528 recipes

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

  4. Sesame + coriandertop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together707 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).

  5. Peas + coriandertop 6% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together428 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the peas

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sesame, sauce, honey, chicken, coriander):

  1. Peanutbetter flavor fit
  2. Cashew nutbetter flavor fit
  3. Beansbetter flavor fit
  4. Peasthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sesame, sauce, honey, chicken, coriander. 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).