Lingham's Historic Chili Sauce · Memories from SAF Cookhouse

Everytime I walk a supermarket aisle (I rarely do nowadays unless absolutely necessary), I would check out the chili sauce section to see if they have any Lingham's chili sauce.

It's like checking in on a good old friend and see how are things with them now.

Glad that I can still find Lingham's at most Singapore supermarket shelves today.

It even sports a trendy contemporary squeeze bottle design now.

Why so sentimental about a chili sauce?

I always associate Lingham's with the first days of my Basic Military Training in the 1970s. Singapore was independent not long before, and the Americans just got driven out of Vietnam after 10 years of fierce fighting. This backdrop set the tone and mood of training at that time.

Enlisted days after my A levels exam, Basic Military Training was shockingly hard even for physically active boys. But, most of us survived this and other training that followed. Those stories for another day.

But, I looked forward to meals at the cookhouse. Food wasn't great (putting it mildly). I can't remember much except that meat, fish, vegetables, rice, everything were served heaped in a jumbled oily mess on steel trays. It was cooked and served smacked onto your tray by fellow conscripts.

(We had to wash and shelf the trays, so the current law of returning trays in hawker centres is second nature for me.)

But, the SAF cookhouse was the first place I encountered Lingham's chili sauce. It was sweetish, had a slight tanginess, with spicy chili heat. I liked it. It even made 1970s vintage SAF cookhouse food palatable.

Why did SAF serve Lingham's when there were cheaper options? I am still researching this but it is likely a colonial legacy.

Lingham's was created in Butterworth, Penang by..... who else.... Mr Lingam, an Indian migrant in 1908.

To make his chili sauce appealing to colonials, Lingam tweaked the name to Lingham's with a "h" as in Nottingham, Birmingham, Westham, Buckingham, you get the idea. Sounds more "atas" (high class).

The colonial officers like the well balanced sweet, sour, mildly spicy taste profile and it was commonly used in British military bases in British Malaya (i.e. today's peninsular Malaysia and Singapore).

Lingham's recipe is roughly one third fresh red chili and the rest are sugar, salt and vinegar. No preservatives or bulk fillers like tomato.

In 1941, Lingam sold his business and returned to India. Ooi Choo Hong who was the Chief Clerk at Henry Waugh & Co. Ltd, a British trading house, bought the business from Mr Lingam.

In 1971, the business was incorporated into Lingham & Sons Sdn Bhd and moved to Selangor.

Current owners Yeoh Jin Beng and Yeoh Jin Hoe took over Lingham & Sons (M) Sdn Bhd in April 2012.

Advertisement in Pinang Gazette and Straits Chronicle, 13 March 1941 described Lingham's as a "high class chilly sauce", a mild piquant relish and appetiser of delightful flavour. (Note chili is spelt chilly.)

Lingham's chili sauce was part of some British forces' combat rations during the Second World War.

Later that year, Penang fell to the Imperial Japanese Army on 19 December 1941.

Advertisement in The Singapore Free Press, 17 December 1953, the lady proclaiming "I like my LINGHAM's.... yes - so would you once you have tasted the delightful flavour of..... LINGHAM's Chilly Sauce. A mild piquant relish appetiser.

It was a cheeky play on the word "lingam" which in Sanskrit refer to the masculine gender, the Hindu phallic image of the god Shiva, and the penis.

Advertisement in The Straits Times, 15 December 1967.

Advertisement in New Nation, 11 June 1982. LINGHAM’S rich, pure chilly sauce. Nothing tastes quite like Lingham’s. Because Lingham’s is made from specially selected chillies. No artificial colouring, fillers or preservatives. Relish the pure, rich flavour of Lingham’s today.

In her article, Some like it hot in The Straits Times, 31 July 1983, Page 4 Lee Geok Boi listed 14 chili sauces for value and taste. She described Lingham's as "Attractive, clear red, hot, slightly sweet but nice, tasty". But at 65 cents for 100 grams, it did not win the "Better Buy" title which Ms Lee awarded to Sinsin Chili Sauce which was sold at 51 cents per 100 grams. 

For a time, I was a fan of Sinsin chili sauce because I like the garlic they blended into the chili sauce.

In the 1980s, made in Singapore Maggi chili sauce soon replaced the more costly Lingham's in Singapore military camps.

Maggi was founded in 1897 by Julius Maggi in the German town of Singen. Since 1947, Maggi is owned by multinational food giant Nestlé which has factories across the globe. Nestle's factory in Jurong started producing tomato and chilli sauces in 1973. (Source credit)

I can't remember anything about the Maggi chili sauce.

I was lucky to spend a few years in the 1980s at Tengah Air Base and later in Tanglin Camp. We had Lingham's as kaki kaki for our meals at the mess.

(I remember this aircraft very well but that's a story for another day.)

So yeah, a bottle of Lingham's always bring back a flood of memories.

More recently, British soldiers in Afghanistan wrote about how they looked forward to the comforting taste of Lingham's after a hard day of combat operations.

What are your memories and experiences with Lingham's chili sauce?

Written by Tony Boey on 22 Mar 2024

This article is NOT sponsored by Lingham's. These are my own thoughts and memories.