Name: Make-ahead Chinese Pork
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 4 carrots , peeled and sliced on the diagonal; 600g pork fillet, cut into bite-sized pieces; 1 large red pepper , seeded and chopped into large chunks; 1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube, crumbled; 1 bunch spring onion , white part left whole, green tops finely sliced; boiled rice or noodles to serve

Why it works: Pork and chicken match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,417 recipes. Both carry 2-furfurylthiol, which smells coffee, roasted. The science ↓

Make-ahead Chinese Pork

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 carrots , peeled and sliced on the diagonal
600g pork fillet, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large red pepper , seeded and chopped into large chunks
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube, crumbled
1 bunch spring onion , white part left whole, green tops finely sliced
boiled rice or noodles to serve

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

699Calories

65 gProtein

19 gFat

63 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pork	100g cooked	242
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8

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

By bbcgoodfood. 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.

Pork + chickentop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,417 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
Chicken + ricetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,769 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Carrot + peppertop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,555 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + oniontop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together21,601 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Carrot + ricetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,477 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

Swap the carrot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pork, pepper, sauce, chicken, onion, rice):

Capsicumfits better
Potatofits better
Tomatofits better
Carrotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pork, pepper, sauce, chicken, onion, rice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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