Name: Marinated Tofu with Udon Noodles & Greens
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 block firm tofu , sliced into thick strips; 4 tbsp soy sauce; 3 tbsp mirin; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 1 tbsp root ginger , grated; 1 red chilli , shredded; 100ml vegetable stock; 300g udon noodles; 4 spring onions , shredded; 300g greens , shredded

Why it works: Tofu and sesame match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 250 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

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.

Tofu + sesametop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together250 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sesame + oniontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,192 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Sesame + gingertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,531 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Tofu + gingertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together284 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Tofu + oniontop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together729 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, sauce, sesame, ginger):

Welsh onionfits better
Spinachfits better
Broccolifits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tofu, sauce, sesame, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Tofu	100g firm	76
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2

Marinated Tofu with Udon Noodles & Greens