Flavors of AAPI: Chef Winnie Yee-Lakhani of Smoke Queen

Chef Winnie-Yee Lakhani of Smoke Queen Barbecue and a tray of her restaurant’s signature BBQ offerings. Photo courtesy of Marc Kharrat / Foodbeast.

Over the last year, a growing number of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) chefs have been getting into the Texas barbecue business. With the combination of American barbecue techniques and flavors from their own childhood, this new group of AAPI chef turned pitmasters has helped define a new wave of barbecue that has taken the United States by storm, and Lee Kum Kee would love to share the story of one such trailblazer.

As part of AAPI Heritage Month in the United States, Lee Kum Kee has been sharing stories of AAPI chefs that share the #FlavorsofAAPI, whether it be through traditional or unique and creative dishes. Through their food, fueled by Lee Kum Kee sauces, as well as their stories and missions, these chefs are supporting and uplifting their local AAPI communities through the food they’re creating.

We’ll be sharing more of these in the future as well, so please use the hashtag #FlavorsofAAPI on social media to share AAPI chef stories and we may feature them some day!

 

 

 

 

 

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Through a partnership with Foodbeast, Lee Kum Kee was excited to share the story of AAPI chef pitmaster Winnie Yee-Lakhani. Known as the “Smoke Queen” on social media, Chef Winnie has become a sensation in the Los Angeles barbecue community with her unique blend of Cantonese and Texas Barbecue flavors.

Her restaurant, Smoke Queen Barbecue, started as a backyard pop-up operation and has now developed into a full-service restaurant in Garden Grove, California. Everything on the menu is inflected with Asian flavors, whether it be her take on crispy Siu Yuk, or pork belly, or burnt ends simmered in a Mapo tofu-style sauce and served with rice.

A bowl of Smoke Queen Barbecue’s Mapo Burnt Ends Rice Bowl. Photo courtesy of Foodbeast/Marc Kharrat.

“I take an American dish, and I ask myself, ‘How can I Asian-ify it?’”, she told Foodbeast. “I try to balance the two because I want to make sure that those who do not gravitate towards Asian food can still love it, and those, like my parents, who are immigrants who only eat Asian food still love it.”

To reach that end, Winnie uses Lee Kum Kee sauces to get authentic Asian flavors into her barbecue. “It’s a brand that my grandmother used, that my mom used,” she said, and most of the dishes on her menu use a Lee Kum Kee product to enhance the flavor in some way.

For Chef Winnie, Smoke Queen is a way for her to share her own story and love of barbecue, as well as define what it means to create Asian-American barbecue in the United States. She’s part of a small crop of AAPI pitmasters that are setting the stage for a revolutionary spin on barbecue that incorporates those authentic flavors. Lee Kum Kee is excited to see how chefs like Winnie will continue to innovate, and our whole range of sauces is available to any pitmaster or home barbecue enthusiast looking to experiment.

A freshly sliced slab of Chef Winnie’s brisket. Photo courtesy of Foodbeast/Marc Kharrat.

Lee Kum Kee is inspired by all the AAPI chefs making their own unique foods and would love to learn about as many as we can. Feel free to share any that you know about on social media with the hashtag #FlavorsofAAPI, and we may feature their restaurant or story in an upcoming video!