Diri djon djon

As tradition built it

Diri djon djon

Ratios and timing sourced to a UK specialty mushroom retailer's own preparation guide; the mushroom-to-rice ratio for a home batch is otherwise given only qualitatively across the sources consulted.

Ingredients

• 50g dried djon djon caps, stems discarded (for grit rather than toxicity)
• 1.25L, boiling water, for soaking
• 2½ cups, long grain white rice

Method

1. Soak dried djon djon caps (stems discarded, for grit rather than toxicity) in hot water for roughly 30 minutes.
2. Blend the soaked mushrooms briefly, then strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth, reserving the dark liquid and discarding the spent solids. As a working guide, 100g dried mushrooms yields enough stock for roughly 12 to 14 servings of rice.
3. Cook the rice in the strained black liquid in place of plain water, giving the rice its signature grey-black colour and earthy, woody aroma.

What a modern chef changes

Clarified Stock, Honest Substitute

Rung 3

Method

1. Blend and strain the rehydrated mushrooms through a chinois rather than a simple sieve, for a genuinely clean, grit-free stock.
2. Where real djon djon is unavailable, dry a blend of shiitake and porcini from fresh in a dehydrator, the diaspora-attested substitute for this exact dish, stating plainly to the reader that this gives real umami but a duller colour and a different, if still genuine, character, not a true substitute for the mushroom itself. Rung 3.