Ingredients
Mushrooms
- 30 gdried djon djon mushrooms
- 1 litrehot water
Rice
- 500 glong grain rice, rinsed
Base
- 3 tbspepis, Haitian green seasoning
- 1onion, chopped
- 6 clovesgarlic
- 3 tbspoil
- 1scotch bonnet, whole
- 2 sprigsthyme
- 1stock cube
- salt
Sometimes
- 150 glima beans or petit pois
- 200 gshrimp or cashews
- a knob of butter
To serve
- with griot, with fried plantain, with pikliz
Directions
- Pour hot water over the dried mushrooms and leave them for at least thirty minutes. An hour gives a deeper colour and stronger flavour. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve or muslin. Pour off the clear liquid carefully and leave the sediment behind. You need enough black liquid to cook the rice in, roughly one and a half times the volume of rice.
- Use the mushroom liquid for all of it rather than diluting with water, since that is where the colour and flavour live. The finished rice should be a deep grey, almost black. Rinse it until the water runs almost clear. Rinsing removes surface starch, which otherwise makes the rice gluey rather than separate.
- Fry the onion and garlic in oil until soft, then add the epis and cook it for two minutes. Add the thyme and the stock cube. Add it whole and unbroken, which gives the fruity aroma without fierce heat.
- Take it out before serving, and do not let it burst unless you want the rice genuinely hot. Add the rinsed rice and stir it in the oil for a minute or two. Coating the grains in oil before the liquid goes in helps keep them separate.
- Pour in the strained mushroom liquid and bring it to a boil. Taste the liquid now and season it firmly, since the rice will absorb it all. It should taste noticeably salty at this stage.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover it tightly. Cook for eighteen to twenty minutes without lifting the lid. Do not stir it, which breaks the grains and makes it sticky.
- Take it off the heat and let it stand, covered, for ten minutes. That rest lets the moisture distribute evenly and it is the difference between fluffy and wet. Stir in a knob of butter if you want, which many households do. Serve it with griot, the fried pork, with fried plantain and with pikliz, the vinegared chilli relish.
Technique
- The mushrooms are steeped and discarded; it is the black liquid that is used.
- The dark grey colour is entirely natural, from the mushroom liquid.
- Strain the steeping liquid carefully, since wild dried mushrooms carry grit.
Substitutions
- There is no real substitute for djon djon.
- Dried black mushrooms give colour but a quite different flavour.
Variations
- With shrimp cooked into it, as a luxury version.
- With lima beans or petit pois.
- Made with cashews, which is common.
History
Rice cooked with djon djon, a black mushroom of Haiti’s north, which dyes the grains dark grey; it is festive, expensive food.
Frequently asked questions
What is Diri ak djon djon?
Diri ak djon djon is a salad & side from Haiti: rice blackened with native djon djon mushrooms. Rice cooked with djon djon, a black mushroom of Haiti’s north, which dyes the grains dark grey; it is festive, expensive food.
How long does Diri ak djon djon take to make?
Diri ak djon djon takes 20 min plus 30 min steeping of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Diri ak djon djon?
Yes, within limits. There is no real substitute for djon djon. Dried black mushrooms give colour but a quite different flavour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Diri ak djon djon?
Use the mushroom liquid for all of it rather than diluting with water, since that is where the colour and flavour live. The finished rice should be a deep grey, almost black. Rinse it until the water runs almost clear. Rinsing removes surface starch, which otherwise makes the rice gluey rather than separate.
