Name: Thai Green Chicken Curry
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 stalk lemongrass , thinly sliced; 1 tbsp lime juice; 1 tsp whole peppercorns; 1 tsp coriander seeds; ½ tsp cumin seeds; 6 green bird's-eye chillies , trimmed and halved; 4 garlic cloves , peeled; 5 shallots (use Thai if possible); 3cm piece galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced; 1 rounded tsp shredded kaffir lime peel (if you can get it); 2 tbsp chopped coriander stalks; 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves; 1 level tsp shrimp paste; 2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil; 2 x 400g cans coconut milk; 2 heaped tbsp green curry paste; 500g skinless, boneless chicken breasts , cut into thin strips; 100ml chicken stock , plus extra if necessary; 1-2 tbsp fish sauce; 2 tsp palm sugar (or light muscovado); 4 kaffir lime leaves; 50g fine green beans , halved; 100g baby aubergines , diced (or Thai pea aubergines); handful Thai basil , shredded; coriander leaves; 1 red chilli , thinly sliced; 1 spring onion , shredded and left to curl in ice cold water; lime wedges; Thai fragrant rice

Why it works: Lime and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,536 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 + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,536 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,866 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Lime + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,216 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Coriander + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,505 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

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 (lime, coriander, cumin, garlic, shallot, ginger, shrimp):

Turmericfits better
Cardamomfits better
Oreganofits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lime, coriander, cumin, garlic, shallot, ginger, shrimp. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Coconut	1/2 cup shredded (40g)	283
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Pea	1/2 cup (72g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Kaffir Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Cumin	1 tsp ground (2.1g)	8
Lemongrass	1 tbsp (6g)	5
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Coriander	not in our table	0
Seed	not in our table	0
Galangal	not in our table	0
Sunflower Oil	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Thai Green Chicken Curry