Tabasco Versus Lingham’s

Last month I have read a few promotional centennial articles on Malaysia’s own sweet chilli sauce from Lingham’s and only now I realised that Malaysia actually has a chilli condiment to rival that other internationally recognised chilli sauce from the sole world super-power, Tabasco. It isn’t everyday we have something to rival them so it gives a good feeling that at least on this level, we are out there in front .What gives me more pleasure is that Lingham's is the quiessential Malaysian product as it was developed by an Indian, designed for the Mat Sallehs, manufactured by a Chinese family and consumed by all strata of Malaysians. Thus it can be considered as a microcosm of Malaysia in its own little bottle.

Nonetheless I must confess that I personally came by to the taste of Lingham's quite late in life, since a bottle of Lingham’s chilli sauce do cost more than the average chilli sauce the Malaysian family consumes and thus Lingham’s was not stocked by my own average Malaysian family. In fact it was my wife who introduced me to this sauce early in my marriage, and only then as a special occasion chilli sauce and not as a table sauce. I actually think I tasted Tabasco much earlier as it was brought back by my sister who was studying in the states, but to this day I actually have not taken to its taste, possibly because its nourish salty taste is too piquant for me. Maybe it is because our taste buds, or mine at least, are more used to a sweet and sour taste even though both sauces share a salt and vinegar base. Thus the addition of sugar makes Lingham’s taste more palatable to me and I guess many others especially their international fans, and this is where the strength of Lingham’s markets are. And Lingham’s has long claimed itself to be organic even before it was fashionable to be so as it is made without any preservatives. Although not made of any chilli padi like Tabasco, the heat from a bottle of Lingham’s is still hot enough for me as our own long red chilli’s has a heat signature of their own and hotness does not need to be just a matter of fieriness in your mouth to register its heat level.

Glugor Grown Red Chillies Vs Avery Island Chilli Padi

Thus I regret that even though you may be able to obtain a bottle of Tabasco sauce when you dine out, our own creation is quite hard to come by. In fact the only time I see Lingham’s chilli sauce served as a condiment by an international food chain is at King Pie during a promotion, though this should not be a surprise as South Africa the chain’s home is a traditional market for the company already. It is a shame since Lingham’s is holding their own in the USA, and for the company to consider itself an export market specialist is quite a shame actually. So if you have not tried a bottle, get one the next time you are in the shops, and we might actually see this home-grown product actually being welcome by more of its countrymen. As for me I am glad that I can now afford it as a table sauce for my home, though for tomato sauce or ketchup as the Yanks call it, I have to be satisfied with other brands currently. So is this the way for the future, my dear Lingham?