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Chicken Tacos + Salsa Fresca

I had my first taco when I was about seven, at the home of a down-the-street neighbor who used to watch me after school until my parents got home from work. As she began to arrange fixings for a greatly-anticipated feast they called Taco Night, I baffled the lot by telling them I didn’t know what one was. (I could have baffled them further by explaining the proper way to boil and then eat a whole artichoke thus proving that but I refrained. I’ve since lost such restraint.).

By smittenkitchen · From Open Recipes · 14 ingredients
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Chicken Tacos + Salsa Fresca

Why it works: Cumin and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,216 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Chicken Tacos + Salsa Fresca

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

274Calories
35 gProtein
5 gFat
24 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Limejuice of 1 lime (44ml)11
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By smittenkitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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. Cumin + limetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,216 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,491 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Cumin + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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, onion, garlic, cumin, pepper, tomato, lime):

  1. Corianderfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, onion, garlic, cumin, pepper, tomato, lime. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.