Diri djon djon ( Haitian Black Mushroom Rice )

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Servings: Serves 6 as a side dish

Ingredients

Mushroom Cooking Water

• 50 g dried djon djon mushrooms, cleaned
• 1.25 L boiling water

Épis (Herb Mixture)

• 6 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper, halved and seeded
• 6 green onions, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup parsley (leaves and stems), coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro (leaves and stems), coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• Leaves from 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• Salt and ground black pepper

Rice

• 21/2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed well (equivalent to about half the volume of the cooking water collected)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 340 g frozen green peas
• 1 tbsp Épis
• Leaves from 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• Pinch of black pepper
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cube beef or chicken bouillon

Optional

• 150 g salted pork fat or spiced pork fat ("enduit")
• 75 g dried or fresh shrimp
• 1 whole hot pepper (e.g., Scotch bonnet)

Instructions

For the Mushroom Cooking Water

1. Boil the mushrooms in water for 15 minutes.
2. Strain the cooking water through a fine sieve. Squeeze the mushrooms to extract all liquid, then discard them.
3. Set this flavorful liquid aside.

For the Herb Mixture (Épis)

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and green. Set aside. Only 1 tbsp is needed in this recipe. Place leftovers in the refrigerator and use as needed. It will keep for two weeks. 

For the Rice

1. Rinse rice thoroughly with cold water, drain. Set aside.
2. In a medium pan, sauté onions in vegetable oil (and the salted pork or spiced fat if using) over medium heat.
3. Add the Épis, peas (and shrimp, if using), and cook for 2–3 minutes.
4. Stir in the mushroom cooking water, drained rice, thyme, black pepper, ground cloves, bay leaves, and bouillon. Add chopped pepper if desired.
5. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring gently, until no water is visible on the surface.
6. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 8–10 minutes.
7. Remove from heat, keeping the pot covered, and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.