I have and still maintain that rice has to be the most widely eaten food in the world. Every culture has a variety of rice dishes that are unique to them. From dishes like coulibiac in Russia to Thieboudienne in Senegal, we are certainly still scratching the surface as far as rice dishes go. Today, it is all about Haitian diri djon djon.
Even if you have not gotten a chance to taste this dish, you must have seen it somewhere before. It is the famous “black rice” of the Haitians. It stands out mostly for its signature dark colour, I was genuinely curious as to what gives it this colour.
Djon djon is a dish that hails from northern Haiti, its deep dark colour is gotten from the djon djon mushroom which is common in these parts. I literally jumped hoops to find this djon djon mushroom in my part of Canada, finding it was tantamount to winning a jackpot.
Other Rice Dishes
The dried mushrooms are boiled in water to get the dark essence extracted. Then it is strained or sieved and the broth is used for the cooking of the rice. This process is what gives djon djon its unique black colour.
Ingredients for Diri Djon Djon
Djon Djon Mushrooms
These dried mushrooms are the core of this dish, without them, you have no djon djon essentially. You might have heard that some people use Maggi in the absence of the mushrooms, but it certainly cannot be compared to the real deal. They give the dish a nice umami flavour and aroma.
Jasmine Rice
The perfume jasmine rice is the option for djon djon. It also adds to the aroma known to this unique dish.
Epis
Just as every cuisine has a backbone seasoning or sauce that serves as the base of most of their dishes, Haitians have epis. It is essentially a blended mix of spring onion, onions, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, garlic etc. I have just the perfect recipe for you!
Protein
I wanted to add some protein to garnish the black rice, hence, the use of shrimp. You can use any other type of protein you like.
Green Peas
They keep it simple with the use of green peas.
Coconut Milk & Unsalted Butter
The use of coconut milk is optional, but it adds quite the flavour to a pot of djon djon. Butter on the other hand is not an ingredient to leave out.
Spices/Seasonings
This recipe does not go overboard with seasonings and spices since the epis is rich enough, however you will need cloves, salt, some bouillon and black pepper.
A few things to note…
- The djon djon mushrooms are to be cleaned properly before use because of how dirty they come. Best practice is to spread them out on a board and pick out any wood fragments or stones that are mixed up in there.
- After boiling the mushrooms and straining them to get their broth, another way to get the most out of the mushrooms is to blend them up before straining.
Diri Djon Djon Recipe
Equipment
- 1 deep skillet
- 1 sieve/strainer
Ingredients
- 1 cup djon djon mushrooms
- 3 cups water
- 1½ cups jasmine rice
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp epis green sauce
- 1 cup green peas
- ⅓ cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp bouillon
- salt to taste
- 6-10 cloves
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 6-10 pieces shrimp
- 2 scotch bonnets (optional)
Instructions
- Clean out your mushrooms before transferring them into a small pot, add in the 3-4 cups of water. Heat up and let it come to a boil, and then a continuous simmer for 10 minutes.
- Strain the broth making sure to squeeze as much broth as you can from the mushrooms. Set the broth aside.
- Rinse your rice 4-5 times till the water is clear, drain and set aside.
- Heat up your oil in the skillet, add in the epis and let it fry for 5 minutes.
- Go in with the green peas and seasonings, keep frying for 2-3 minutes before adding in the coconut milk, let it come to a light simmer.
- Add in the djon djon broth, 2 scotch bonnets and let it come to a soft simmer.
- Add in the rice and the butter, combine and cover with some foil before using the lid. Let it cook on low to medium heat for 15 mins.
- There should still be some moisture in the rice, add in the shrimp, combine and cover to cook again for another 10 minutes.
- Use a fork to fluff the rice.
