Red yeast rice

Red yeast rice (Chinese: 紅麴米, 红曲米; pinyin: hóng qú mǐ; lit. "red yeast rice"), red fermented rice, red kojic rice, red koji rice, or ang-kak, is a bright reddish purple fermented rice, acquires its colour from being cultivated with the mold Monascus purpureus. In Japan, it is known as beni-koji (べにこうじ, lit. "red koji") or akakoji (あかこうじ, also meaning "red koji") and in Taiwan it is sometimes also called âng-chau (紅糟) in Taiwanese. Among the Hakka, it is known as fungkiuk. In China, it is widely available under the brand name XueZhiKang (血脂康), and in Singapore it is available as Hypocol.

Red yeast rice is sold in jars at Asian markets as a pasteurized wet aggregate, whole dried grains, or as a ground powder. It was a commonly used red food colouring in East Asian and Chinese cuisine prior to the discovery of chemical food colouring. It has also been used in Chinese herbal medicine.