Name: Thai Cucumber and Shrimp Salad Recipe
Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients: 2 lbs. shrimp with shells on; ½ cup Japanese cucumbers – halved, seeded, thinly sliced; ½ cup orange bell peppers – sliced; ¼ cup shallots – thinly sliced (or substitute with red onions); ¼ cup garlic – minced; 3 Tbsp. cilantro – chopped; 2 Tbsp. Mint – chopped (or substitute with perilla leaves); 2 Tbsp. Thai basil – chopped; 2 Tbsp. peanuts (unroasted and unsalted); 3 Tbsp. fish sauce; 2 Tbsp. lime juice; 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar; 1 Tbsp. palm sugar (or substitute with brown sugar); 1 Tbsp. minced garlic; 3-4 Thai peppers thinly sliced or minced (for milder sauce substitute with Jalapeño)

Why it works: Cucumber and shallot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 264 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. 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.

Cucumber + shallottop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together264 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,556 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Shallot + garlictop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,000 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Cucumber + minttop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together884 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Pepper + garlictop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

Swap the thai basil

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (shrimp, cucumber, orange, pepper, shallot, garlic, mint):

Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Dillfits better
Thai basilthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against shrimp, cucumber, orange, pepper, shallot, garlic, mint. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Peanut	1 oz (28g)	161
Shrimp	100g cooked	99
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Orange Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Cucumber	1/2 cup sliced (52g)	16
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Thai Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Peppermint	not in our table	0
Sauce	not in our table	0

Thai Cucumber and Shrimp Salad Recipe