Why it works: Ginger and cardamom match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,114 recipes mention both. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
The recipe
6 servingsIngredients
Contains: soy (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Put the cubed potatoes in a pan of boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes until nearly tender. Drain well.
Heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped red onion and cook for about 5 minutes until softened.
Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for about 4 minutes until they release their liquid and begin to brown.
Stir in the ground ginger, freshly ground cardamom and mixed spice and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add the drained potatoes, the kidney beans with their liquid and the chopped baby corn. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the mixture simmers, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a second skillet over medium heat. Add the broccoli florets and a splash of water, cover and steam for about 4 minutes until bright green and tender-crisp.
Add the broccoli to the potato and bean mixture and stir gently to combine.
Season with soy sauce to taste, then serve hot.
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.
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Ginger + cardamomtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,114 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Potato + oniontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together9,019 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + broccolitop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together909 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + olivetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,688 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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Olive + mushroomtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together4,057 recipes
Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the kidney beans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (potato, broccoli, olive, ginger, cardamom, onion, mushroom):
- Sesamebetter flavor fit
- Beansbetter flavor fit
- Chickpeabetter flavor fit
- Kidney beansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against potato, broccoli, olive, ginger, cardamom, onion, mushroom. 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).
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