Name: Djon djon rice (Diri ak djon djon)
Eaten in: Haiti
Foodie: Gen
This post is certainly not about a boring white rice recipe. I feel extremely lucky that my Haitian mom, my Togolese dad and my multicultural friends have introduced me to several fantastic rice dishes. Isn’t it fabulous to be able to match your rice dish with your mood, your clothes or your friends’ favourite colors? I personally eat rice at least eight different ways: white, red, pinkish, brown, green, brown, yellow and black. And the black one is my favourite among them all: you will be blown away by the taste of the djon djon rice! Djon djons are edible black mushrooms that are especially common in the northern region of Haiti. They are associated with such a delightful taste and aroma that they can almost be seen as a delicacy not to be used in everyday cooking! As they are brought to boil, the djon djons release a distinctive black coloring, hence yielding a black stock in which regular rice is cooked. Serve it along any kind of meat or fish and you will have a flavoursome meal your taste buds will thank you for.
Djon djon rice (Diri ak djon djon)
Print recipe
| Serves | 2-4 |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 20 minutes |
| Total time | 50 minutes |
| Meal type | Side Dish |
Ingredients
- 25g of Haitian dried black mushrooms
- 3 cups of water
- 1 One cup of long grain rice;
- salt, pepper, thyme (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 cup green peas
Optional
- 1/3 cup small shrimps
Directions
| 1. | Soak the dried mushrooms in the water for 5-10 minutes, then boil mushrooms on low heat for an additional 10 minutes. Strain the mushrooms and reserve 2 cups of the black stock. |
| 2. | Sauté the rice and garlic in a very small amount of cooking oil. Add the spices along with the green peas and the shrimps if desired. |
| 3. | Add the 2 cups of black water and bring to boil; then, reduce and cook for 15-20 minutes or until all water has been absorbed by the rice. Stir before serving. |
Looks great.
Can the Haitian dried black mushrooms be replaced by another kind of mushroom? Or where can we find Haitian mushrooms outside of Haiti? Caribbean grocery stores?
Nice cooking site 😉
Cheers
on amazon look for Haitian dried black mushrooms ” djon djon”
The flavor of this dish really comes from the Djon-Djon mushrooms, so sadly they cannot be replaced with any other kind of mushroom. Caribbean grocery store or other tropical grocery stores are the best bet to try to find the mushrooms.
Thanks for stopping by!
Do you “clean” your mushrooms first? I seem to remember a friend’s mother taking off the little stems – which they said was necessary. (Forgive me, it could have been something else they were picking out….but I definitely remember this being a laborious process.) Yet, this rice is absolutely fabulous! Too bad others haven’t discovered Haitian food!
I usually buy mine dry, which means they’ve been cleaned and are ready to use. The actual mushrooms are not used in the recipe, only the broth they are boiled in.
Definitely clean the mushrooms, otherwise you could erroneously boil mud and bugs into your stock. I break off the stems and only boil the mushroom tops. My husband and his mother clear out mud but boil them with the stems on. I guess that is just a preference thing. And, yes, it is quite laborious. I buy the mushrooms dried from Haitian grocery stores I visit in other cities while travelling. When I return home, i clear the stems and mud and place the tops in ziploc bags, ready to use when my hubby asks for his homeland fave!
I am from the Dominican Republic, the country sharing the Island with Haiti, I know Dijon Dijon because part of my family comes from a city near the Haitian border… Hardly any Dominican knows about this delicious mushroom… It is truly tasty and unique… Anyone knows the taxonomy or scientific name of Dijon Dijon ???
I can only see the first three ingredients (up to long grain white rice) for some reason. I tried multiple browsers. I see other ingredients referenced in the instruction section. Can this be fixed? I grew up eating this and would love to see the entire recipe to try to reproduce.