Fujian Fermented Red Rice

Although this fermented rice is made from glutinous rice and a wine pill just as Shanghai Sweet Wine Rice is, it is not sweet. That‛s because red rice is added to the mix, which also accounts for the final color. Nor is this rice ever eaten as cooked. It is always an ingredient and, in Fujian, a treasure. It is usually made in winter—it requires coolness to ferment—in quantities sufficient for a year‛s use.