Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Chilli Paste

Discover the best flavour pairings for chilli paste based on data analysis of thousands of recipes. Find perfect ingredient matches & delicious recipes.

Fiery sensation and capsicum notes are at the forefront of chilli paste's flavour profile, but identifying its perfect partner requires exploring its subtle nuances. We must examine the complex interplay of notes within its bouquet, like smoke, char, and hints of glutamate. We need to understand how these notes affect each other and which complementary flavors they harmonise with.

To map these harmonies, we analysed thousands of ingredients, breaking each one down across 150 flavour dimensions, identifying which notes complement and contrast. Our findings reveal, for instance, how corn oil's maize-like tones can embrace chilli paste, or how fenugreek's sotolon notes create an unexpectedly harmonious bridge with the fiery sensation.

An ingredient's flavour stems from its core characteristics, such as maillard, acidic, or vegetal, combined with layers of subtle flavour notes (outer bars). For a balanced dish, pair ingredients with a variety of core flavours, and choose complementary aroma notes for harmony.

The Flavour Code

To understand exactly which flavours harmonise, we compiled a database of over 50,000 ingredient pairings commonly used in cooking. We then analysed these pairings, identifying the specific flavour notes that frequently appear together.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Capsaicin Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of chilli is strongly associated with the flavour of fenugreek. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a fenugreek flavour when pairing with the hot accents of chilli paste.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing chilli paste with fenugreek.

Harmonious Flavours Of Chilli Paste

Just as our analysis indicated that chilli and fenugreek notes frequently pair together, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavour notes present in chilli paste. E.g. the capsicum flavours of chilli paste are often used with corn-like and briney notes.

The accents associated with the various aroma notes of chilli paste can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of corn oil offers many of the notes complementary to chilli paste, including corn and starch aroma notes. Because the flavour profile of corn oil has many of the of the features that are complementary to chilli paste, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of corn oil across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with chilli paste.

Recipes That Pair Chilli Paste With Corn Oil

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the accents that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of chilli paste, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of chilli paste, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the notes complementary to chilli paste.

What To Drink With Chilli Paste

The fenugreek notes in savagnin make it a perfect pairing with chilli paste. Likewise, the fenugreek flavours in vin jaune create a match made in heaven. Explore a variety of ingredients below that beautifully complement the unique character of chilli paste below.

Which Fruit Go With Chilli Paste?

Choose fruit that resonate with its pepperiness or awaken its green sweetness. Preserved lemon offers vibrant, clean counterpoints, its verdant freshness lifting the palate. Preserved lemon juice add a gentle, oniony brightness, while pomegranate introduces a sophisticated, anise-tinged elegance.

Alternatively, embrace fruit that harmonise with chilli paste's fieriness. The addition of pomegranate molasses, with its subtle sotolon notes, can complement the chilli beautifully. Avocado bridges earthiness and citrus zest, while peach lends a nutty aroma.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Chilli paste), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.