Anecdotal Evidence: The Miracle of the Secret Sauce

Part of an occasional series on "statistics."  A good statistician will tell you that those two words – anecdotal and evidence – never belong next to each other.  But I am only a mediocre statistician so I proceed without fear to present some anecdotal evidence on random topics.

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If I put my secret sauce on food they hate, the family will eat it, and like it.

Evidence, with n=2 foods hated and n=2 food haters.

Evidence for n = tofu

For a long time, I have been trying to cook tofu that is palatable to the rest of the family, with the goal of eating less meat-based protein. I like tofu, simply pan-fried, but the other two don’t. 

I asked a pastor friend of mine the best way to cook tofu, and he said, “You have to season the hell out of it.”  Which seems like reasonable advice from a pastor.  I’ve tried a number of different recipes over the past few years, but nothing appealed to my clientele.

Saturday April 18, 2020, Day 34 of stay-at-home.

I decided that dinner would be tofu in honey-garlic sauce, the family’s dislike of tofu be damned (I feel my pastor friend would agree with that sentiment).

A miracle!  All members of the Common Household liked the tofu! The key was not the honey-garlic sauce, but my secret sauce.  Here’s how I made it:

I cut the tofu in pieces about ½ inch thick, and marinated it in a mixture of honey, soy sauce, and minced garlic.  Dipped it in flour, and then fried it (almost burned it, but not quite).

I transferred the tofu to a serving bowl. I put about ¼ cup of plum sauce (from a jar) in the hot pan, plus a dollop of ginger paste (from the tube) and also added the remainder of the honey-garlic sauce from the marinating step.  I heated it briefly, and then poured it over the tofu.  Then, like Mikey in the Life Cereal® commercials of my childhood, the tofu-haters ate it, and declared that it was actually tasty.  Success! 

Evidence for n = broccoli

Saturday April 25, 2020, Day 41 of stay-at-home

At 6 PM it became clear to me that no one else was going to make dinner.  I yanked some tilapia out of the freezer.  I also realized we had fresh broccoli, bought on Monday, that needed to be cooked immediately.  As I hauled the broccoli out of the fridge, the other Common Household residents made faces and declared they would not eat it. 

We'll see about that, I thought.  I sliced some onions and then threw the fresh broccoli in the frying pan.  After the broccoli was cooked I took it out of the frying pan, and I made my secret sauce:  some minced garlic in the pan, fry for 1 minute.  Then add 1/4 cup of plum sauce and a dollop (about a tsp) of ginger paste.  Stir for another minute to heat, then pour over the broccoli w/onions.  Everyone ate the broccoli, despite their declared hatred for it.  Secret sauce for the win!

God help me if the family decides that I must eat mayonnaise during stay-at-home.  I will refuse, because mayonnaise is a sauce from hell.

More anecdotal evidence:
California
Furniture

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Here is the original recipe for Honey-Garlic sauce, which is more involved than what I did for the tofu.

Honey-Garlic  Sauce

Ingredients

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. soy sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp. sriracha

1/4 c. water

2 tsp. corn starch

1/4 c. sliced scallions (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water, until the cornstarch dissolves completely. Set aside.

Combine soy sauce, honey, garlic, lime juice and Sriracha in a small saucepan over medium heat.

When the mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat and add the cornstarch mixture. Bring to simmer again and cook until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.

How to use:

Use on broiled fish (apply in the last few minutes of cooking).  Or on baked or stir-fried vegetables.  Or on tofu.