Name: Spring Veg & Prawn Stir-fry
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 200g brown rice; 1 tbsp sesame seeds; 1 tbsp vegetable oil or sunflower oil; small knob of root ginger , peeled and cut into matchsticks; 300g mixed baby carrots and parsnips, halved lengthways; 2 tbsp hoisin sauce; 200g pack frozen cooked prawns , defrosted and drained; 3 spring onions , sliced

Why it works: Carrot and parsnip match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,097 recipes. Both carry 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, which smells green bell pepper, earthy. The science ↓

Spring Veg & Prawn Stir-fry

Serves 2

Prep5 min

Cook35 min

Ingredients

200g brown rice
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp vegetable oil or sunflower oil
small knob of root ginger , peeled and cut into matchsticks
300g mixed baby carrots and parsnips, halved lengthways
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
200g pack frozen cooked prawns , defrosted and drained
3 spring onions , sliced

Directions

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

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

670Calories

31 gProtein

28 gFat

75 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 10 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Parsnip	1/2 cup (78g)	55
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Sunflower Oil	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

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.

Carrot + parsniptop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,097 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Sesame + sunflowertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together172 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Rice + sesametop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together984 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ginger + carrottop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Sunflower + parsniptop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together32 recipes

Shared aroma: sabinene (woody, terpenic).

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 (rice, sesame, sunflower, ginger, carrot, parsnip, sauce):

Welsh onionfits better
Beetrootfits better
Sweet potatofits better
Onionthe original

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

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.