紅麴
Entry posted by jbradfor
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Me: [looking at some weird Asian food my wife bought] What is "red "flour"
Wife: what?
Me: hong mian. Red flour.
Wife: [looking at the package] What do you think the second character is?
Me: mian. "flour" or "bread"
Wife: That's not 麵.
Me: Oh. [Looks closely.] So it's not. What is "red" "something-that-isn't-mian"
Wife: I don't know. [We look at the translation of the ingredient list.] What is Anka?
Me: I don't know.
Even wikipedia doesn't have an entry for it. Googling, I find out that it is
a strain of mold called Monascus anka and is traditionally added to steamed rice that is left to ferment. After it is dried, the end product, commonly known as anka or “red rice,” has been popularly used as a spice to give sweetness and aroma to foods, as well as to add a red color.
Not to make me worried, but the second hit on google for this are a warning out of Taiwan about "Toxic Anka". On the good side, the first hit is a scientific paper saying it might be used to used to suppress hypertriglyceridemia and hyperlipidemia.
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