Oh diri djondjon!! The love of my life. I can’t even begin to explain how great this dish tastes. It is one of those Sunday recipes; or those recipes saved for a celebratory day. It is a precious meal in my country. Most people love it, if not all. And it’s always a joy to eat it. Let’s not wait any longer to check out the steps in making this gem.
Ingredients:
4 cups of yellow rice
2 cups of djondjon (Haitian dried mushrooms)
2 cups of pigeon peas (fresh, frozen or cooked)
1/2 lb of small shrimps
1 head of garlic
1/2 a bell pepper
3 scallions
1 1/2 onion
1 tsp of thyme
1/4 cup of parsley
1 green habanero pepper
salt to taste
Let’s get started!!
First, let’s get to know our mushroom. This was one of the greatest mysteries of my life when I was a kid. I always wondered how to say djondjon in French. In Haiti we call it djondjon. In English it’s called “dried black Trumpet”. Et en Français, “Chanterelles noires séchées”.
Another thing that I want to point out is the yellow rice. I don’t mean brown rice. This recipe is best with yellow rice. If you can’t find it, then subsitute it for white rice, but absolutely not brown rice.
Ok! Now to cooking. In a large pot, add 8 cups of water and the djondjon. Place it on a low/medium heat and let it come to a boil. Once it starts to boil, turn off the flame. Once it is done, strain out the mushrooms and collect the juice. The next step is to clean the shrimps.
If you are using fresh shrimps like I am, take off the shells and veins, and rinse them thoroughly. After that make the “epis”. In a food processor or blender, add the peeled garlic, thyme, parsley, scallions, 1/2 onion, 1/2 a bell pepper and one cup of water. Blend them until you get a smooth juice. I didn’t forget the salt; it was left out intentionally. You can add the salt now if you want, but I just prefer adding it to the cooking process. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the “epis” to the shrimps and let them marinate for about 15 minutes. Dice the whole onion that is left.
On medium heat, in a heavy bottom pan, add 3 tablespoons of oil and let it warm up. Once the oil is hot enough add the peas and let them cook for 3-5 minutes. After that, add the diced onion, the shrimps and the “epis” and let them cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the 8 cups of djondjon (mushroom) stock in the pan. Add more water only if you think it’s necessary. In the video I added an additional one cup of water to the pan. At this point, add salt to taste. Taste the stock to check whether you want to add something else. Add the habanero pepper to the stock. I made a slit in mine because I want the rice to be slightly spicy; not too spicy, just the right amount. Let the stock come to a boil.
Once the water starts to boil, add the rice, and mix it in. Let the rice cook through on medium/high heat uncovered. Once most of the water is gone, check to see if the rice has cooked all the way. Cover the rice with a very tight lid, and lower the flame on low heat, and let it continue to cook for about five minutes. Then you can turn off the flame.
Enjoy
Thank you for your time!