This growing demand for diverse global ingredients and flavours didn’t happen overnight. Since 1888, Hong Kong-based sauce brand Lee Kum Kee has been at the forefront of bringing traditional Asian cooking essentials to global kitchens. Founded by Lee Kum Sheung in Nanshui, Guangdong in Southern China, Lee Kum Kee began by happy accident. Sheung discovered oyster sauce when he forgot about a simmering pot of oyster soup, which was reduced into a thick, flavourful sauce. Since then, his mission has been to create sauces that add flavour and bring joy to eating. What started with oyster sauce has evolved into a global brand offering over 300 products across more than 100 countries. The range includes oyster sauce, soy sauce, cooking and dipping sauces, convenience sauces, chilli oils, dressings, XO sauces and seasoning powders for soups, noodles, pasta and more.

Now, brands like Lee Kum Kee have become global household names and stand as symbols of quality and trust that have reshaped perceptions of Chinese food and beyond. Research commissioned by Spar, investigating how staple items have changed in British kitchens, found that one in three households keep a bottle of soy sauce on hand. Common pantry items such as sweet chilli sauce, white wine vinegar, coconut milk, teriyaki sauce and mirin now sit alongside beans, olive oil, tinned tomatoes and pasta. This diversification of pantry essentials has fostered openness to new flavours, offering opportunities to explore different cultures and understand cuisines on a deeper level. What were once-specialty products have now become indispensable and seamlessly integrated into the mainstream culinary landscape.

Asia, the largest continent on earth and consisting of forty-nine countries, has a rich heritage shaped by diverse regional influences, unique environments and generations of tradition. While it’s reductive to label its vast and varied cuisines simply as ‘Pan-Asian' or ‘fusion’ it’s important to understand the culture, history and practices behind these dishes that allow home cooks and professional chefs to adapt cherished dishes for modern tastes while respectfully paying homage to their origins.

The sauces, pastes, oils, and spices that define these cuisines have evolved over centuries, surviving wars and driving global trade. Today, they bring beloved flavours into kitchens worldwide. Chefs like Andrew Wong of the two-Michelin-starred A. Wong in London use these ingredients with creativity and purpose. Wong enhances Wagyu beef and lettuce fried rice with oyster essence for a luxurious umami punch and adds nuttiness to velvet egg white with crab using aged rice wine, offering something new to curious diners’ plates. 'It's not about recreating the classics,' Wong says. 'It’s our exploration into craft, cuisine, and table culture.'

Beyond oyster sauce and rice wine, we are currently in the midst of a chilli oil renaissance. This fiery condiment is finding its way into everything, from fish curry at Malaysian restaurant Mambow in East London to pan-fried tofu knots at Mamapen, a Cambodian pop-up at Sun and 13 Canton, and even infused in butter and drizzled over scallops at Greek restaurant Oma in London Bridge. Chilli oils and pastes have transformed British menus. Made with an aromatic blend of fried garlic, dried chilli flakes and oil, this versatile staple has become a go-to for chefs to add heat, texture and depth to dishes. A simple spoonful can elevate a dish from good to show-stopping with its fragrant warmth and irresistible crunch.

No conversation about Asian flavours is complete without soy sauce, a versatile and foundational condiment used in countless dishes. Light and dark soy sauces are the most common varieties. British chefs are embracing the rich, umami-laden condiment in creative ways – from marinades and glazes for spatchcock roasted chicken Sunday roasts at The Marquee Moon in Stoke Newington, to Rita’s and Facing Heaven’s salty, sticky soy sauce caramel for desserts, and inventive soy sauce flavour ice cream at designer Anya Hindmarch’s Ice Cream Project pop-up in Belgravia, West London. These challenge traditional notions of sweet and savoury while adding complexity to dishes.

The growing love affair between Asian ingredients and British chefs shows no sign of slowing down. What sets Asian ingredients apart in Western kitchens is their ability to bring separate components and marry them together into a cohesive and harmonious whole by adding complexity and balance without overpowering. For home cooks and chefs, the appeal of Asian flavours, condiments, and sauces lies in their transformative power. As more chefs and home cooks experiment with these versatile ingredients, products like those from Lee Kum Kee will keep bridging culinary traditions, creating exciting yet familiar flavours, which is a true testament to the endless creativity of innovative cooking.