Fungi

Name: Fungi
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: caribbean
Ingredients: 1/3 cup sliced fresh or frozen okra; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 cup fine yellow cornmeal; 1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into chunks

Recipe from Julius Jackson

Adapted by Korsha Wilson

Published May 19, 2021

Fungi — Christopher Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 15 minutes
Rating: 4(127)
Comments: Read comments

A staple on dinner tables in the Virgin Islands, this filling, earthy side dish goes well with fish or any stewed protein. In St. Thomas, you can find it accompanying tender stewed snapper or butter-braised conch, acting as a sponge for luscious sauces. Here, chef Julius Jackson, author of “My Modern Caribbean Kitchen” (Page Street Publishing, 2018) and native Virgin Islander, offers a simple, traditional version. This dish isn’t an exact science; some people like it so thick it stands up on its own, while others prefer it thinner, with runny lines of butter. Find which way works best for you by tasting and tweaking as needed. Chilled leftover fungi can be cut into squares and pan-fried in a bit of oil until golden, making a great base for scrambled or poached eggs with bacon on the side. —Korsha Wilson

Featured in: In the Virgin Islands, Fungi Tells a Story

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

⅓cup sliced fresh or frozen okra
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1cup fine yellow cornmeal
¼cup chilled unsalted butter (½ stick), cut into chunks

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
In a medium saucepan, bring 2¼ cups water to a boil over medium-high.
Step 2
When water reaches a rolling boil, add okra and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook over medium-high until softened, about 4 minutes.
Step 3
Slowly and carefully, pour half the cornmeal into the water while whisking to prevent lumps. It will get very thick very quickly.
Step 4
Once the mixture is smooth, add the remaining cornmeal and the butter, whisking vigorously to combine.
Step 5
When smooth, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. If you’d like it a little thinner, whisk additional water into the mixture. Serve hot.

Ratings

4 out of 5

127 user ratings

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Comments

stefanie4 years ago

My mother, from Curacao, would put leftover plain fungi in greased bowl, refrigerate overnight. Fungi becomes solid, unmold, slice, fry in butter, and serve with syrup for breakfast the next morning!

barbara gill4 years ago

In Barbados this is called coo coo

Keith4 years ago

Sliced, boiled Okra. Grits and polenta don’t have Okra. If you mean what’s the difference between grits, polenta and yellow cornmeal, it can be the grind and/or what color corn, white, yellow, blue, was used to make it.

lori2 years ago

Too much salt. Next time only putting in one tsp.

Helen_Wheels3 years ago

Cut butter to 1 1/2 tbsp.

David3 years ago

Where is the fungus in the fungi?

David Jackson3 years ago

And how is it pronounced? "Fun Guy"? "Fun Ghee"? "Fun Jee"?

cocomero1 day ago

@David Jackson I watched some videos online about this. They pronounced it “fun-chee,” but it goes by many names. One cook said that she and her family don’t use okra because nobody in her family likes it. Different cooks added different aromatics and cooked it to different textures.

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