Name: Stir-fry Noodle Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 8 kaffir lime leaves (from supermarkets and oriental food stores); 4 tbsp blocks egg noodles; 4 tbsp sesame oil; 2 red peppers , deseeded and finely sliced; 2 carrots , sliced into batons; large knob ginger , finely chopped; bunch spring onion , finely sliced; 6 tbsp soy sauce; 2 large handfuls beansprouts; 250g block tofu , cut into cubes; 1 large bunch coriander , stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped; 2 garlic cloves , finely chopped; 150ml rice wine vinegar; 2 sticks lemongrass; 1 small piece fresh red chilli (about one-third); 2 tbsp golden caster sugar

Why it works: Lime and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,621 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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.

Lime + gingertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,621 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lime + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Carrot + gingertop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,377 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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).

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 (lime, egg, sesame, pepper, carrot, ginger, sauce):

Capsicumfits better
Welsh onionfits better
Spinachfits better
Onionthe original

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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Tofu	100g firm	76
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Carrot	1 medium (61g)	25
Wine	2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)	25
Kaffir Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Lemongrass	1 tbsp (6g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Coriander	not in our table	0

Stir-fry Noodle Salad