Name: Crisp Tofu with Ginger & Chilli
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 1 pack tofu , drained and cut into large cubes; rice flour or flour for dusting; oil for frying; a large knob root ginger , finely shredded; 1 red chilli , finely shredded; 2 shallots , cut into thin rings; 2 spring onions , finely sliced; 2 tbsp black, red or white rice vinegar; 2 tbsp sesame oil; 2 tbsp mirin; steamed rice to serve

Why it works: Tofu and sesame match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 250 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. 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.

Tofu + sesametop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together250 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Rice + sesametop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together984 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Onion + sesametop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,192 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Ginger + sesametop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,531 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
Shallot + sesametop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together77 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

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

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tofu, rice, ginger, onion, sesame):

Welsh onionfits better
Broccolifits better
Spinachfits better
Shallotthe original

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

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Tofu	100g firm	76
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Vinegar	1 tbsp (15ml) distilled	3
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2

Crisp Tofu with Ginger & Chilli