Name: Tom Yum Po-tak Ta-lay Recipe
Ingredients: * 100 grams green mussel, cleaned; * 100 grams crab, chopped into small pieces; * 80 grams red sea bass , sliced; * 80 grams squid, scored and sliced; * 80 grams medium-sized shrimps, cleaned, shelled and deviened; * 1/4 cup mushrooms, peel black skin and cut in half; * 2 tablespoons galangal, sliced; * 2 tablespoons fish sauce; * 3 tablespoons lime juice; * 5-10 chillies, crushed; * 2 lemomgrass, sliced 2 inch long and crushed; * 3 kaffir lime leaves, shredded; * 1/2 cup basil leaves; * 2 cup vegetable stock or water; * coriander leaves (for garnishing)

Why it works: Lime and coriander match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 3,536 recipes mention both. 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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Lime + coriandertop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,536 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together505 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Basil + coriandertop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together520 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Squid + shrimptop 6% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together90 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Crab + shrimptop 7% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together123 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).

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

Flavor stand-ins for the basil

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (crab, squid, shrimp, mushroom, fish sauce, lime, coriander):

Garlicbetter flavor fit
Gingerbetter flavor fit
Cuminbetter flavor fit
Basilthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against crab, squid, shrimp, mushroom, fish sauce, lime, coriander. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

Tom Yum Po-tak Ta-lay Recipe