Run dung

Meaning

A dish made by boiling down coconut milk until it reduces to an oily, custardy base ('the oil'), then simmering salted fish (mackerel or shad) with onion, tomato and seasoning in it. The name comes from the coconut milk being cooked down until it breaks.

Examples

• “Granny mek run dung wid mackerel dis mawnin.”

  Grandma made run down with mackerel this morning.

  'mawnin' shows the common vowel shift; run dung is often a breakfast dish.

• “Yuh haffi bwoil di coconut milk till it run dung.”

  You have to boil the coconut milk until it breaks down into oil.

  Shows the verbal origin of the name: the milk literally 'runs down'.

• “Nyam di run dung wid boil green banana an dumplin.”

  Eat the run down with boiled green banana and dumpling.

  'nyam' (to eat) is of West African origin; ground provisions are the usual sides.

Origin

English 'run down', describing how the coconut milk reduces and separates into oil during long cooking; 'dung' is the Patois pronunciation of 'down'.

How it's used

An older, rural country dish, strongly tied to grandmothers' cooking and breakfast, often served with ground provisions. Sometimes written 'rundown' on menus abroad, where it may be confused with unrelated stews.

Related words

• Nyam