Name: Maggi Noodle Stir-Fry with Spiced Tofu & Broccoli Recipe
Yield: 1-2
Ingredients: 1 package Maggi (I use masala flavor, but anything is fine!); 1/2 onion- sliced in rainbows; 1/2 green/red bell pepper- sliced in rainbows; 1 head/1 cup broccoli florets; 1/4 package of pre-cubed firm tofu cubes; 3-4 dried cayenne chilis (or chili powder to taste); 2-3 tbsp soy sauce; 1/2 tbsp salt (or to taste- don’t put too much bc the maggi masala powder is salty!); coarse black pepper- a few grinds; 3 cloves garlic- crushed and minced; 2-3 tbsp grated ginger (try to use fresh, if not use about 1 tbsp jar ginger paste); 2 tbsp olive/veg oil & PAM; handful of cilantro/coriander- finely chopped for garnishing

Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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.

Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,038 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together29,058 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Broccoli + garlictop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,072 recipes

Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Onion + broccolitop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,294 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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 (onion, pepper, broccoli, tofu, sauce, garlic, ginger):

Turmericfits better
Cuminfits better
Corianderfits better
Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, pepper, broccoli, tofu, sauce, garlic, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tofu	100g firm	76
Broccoli	1 cup chopped (156g)	55
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Olive	1 large (4g)	4
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Maggi Noodle Stir-Fry with Spiced Tofu & Broccoli Recipe