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 1Ingredients
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Stir the coriander into the broth. Spoon the broth into a serving bowl, lay the sesame cod on top and serve hot.
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.
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Sesame + chickentop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together939 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
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Sesame + honeytop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together527 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl pentanoate (yeast, fruit).
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Chicken + peastop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,528 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Sesame + coriandertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together707 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
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Peas + coriandertop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned 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):
- Peanutbetter flavor fit
- Cashew nutbetter flavor fit
- Beansbetter flavor fit
- 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).
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