RED YEAST RICE AND FERMENTED PRODUCTS

Red yeast rice production is documented in China from the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), though the technique is almost certainly older. *Hong qu* was historically used in both food production (Fujian and Zhejiang cuisines in particular) and in traditional Chinese medicine, where statins produced by *Monascus purpureus* are now understood to be responsible for observed cardiovascular effects. Contemporary interest in red yeast rice as a medicinal supplement has somewhat obscured its culinary history.

Red yeast rice (*hong qu* or *ang kak*) is rice that has been fermented with the mould *Monascus purpureus*, which produces a brilliant crimson pigment and a range of secondary metabolites that contribute both flavour and the characteristic deep red colour to various Chinese preparations. It is used as a natural food colouring, a fermentation culture, a flavouring agent, and the base for several important Chinese fermented condiments. Its use demonstrates the depth of the Chinese fermentation tradition extending far beyond the better-known doubanjiang and black bean preparations.

Red yeast rice preparations are most prominent in Fujian, Hunan, and Cantonese cooking. Their distinctive colour and fermented character make them regionally specific flavour signals — a Fujianese braise with hong zao tastes and looks different from a Shanghainese hong shao even when both are categorised as "red-braised."