Red yeast rice ✦

Riz rouge fermenté (levure de riz rouge)

What it is

Rice inoculated with Monascus purpureus goes crimson right through the grain; the Song-dynasty Qingyi Lu already lists it as a colouring for wine and a preservative for food. The mould makes monacolin K, a molecule chemically identical to lovastatin — the first statin ever brought to market, though the drug itself was isolated from a different mould.

In the kitchen

It is a colour and a ferment, not a grain to boil. A tablespoon of whole grains simmered in a braise stains it rose without adding flavour, while the powder goes streaky; for char siu, steep the grains in the marinade overnight and strain them out.

Goes with

Pork Shaoxing wine Chinese rock sugar Ginger Red fermented bean curd (nanru) Chinkiang vinegar

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