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.
- - Okinawan *awamori* uses *koji* (Aspergillus oryzae) mould in a parallel fermentation tradition — different mould species, similar principle of mould-fermented starch as a flavour and preservation ve
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."
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