What is ebi in sushi?海老
This time, I looked into the various names and seasons for sushi ebi.
How to call ebi
【ebi】shrimp, boiled shrimp エビ 海老
It is known that there are many types of shrimp. The most popular shrimp used in sushi are kuruma shrimp and botan shrimp. Kuruma shrimp is sometimes called hon shrimp”,ma shrimp”, or “haru shrimp” depending on the region, and in some regions, it is called saimaki when it is not fully grown, and maki when it is small. This is sometimes simply called by region, but it seems that other names are also used depending on the growth condition.
The peak season for ebi
Tiger prawns are distributed from the waters around Japan to the Indo-Pacific coast and the eastern Mediterranean. They live on sandy bottoms at a depth of about 100m in areas with calm waves such as inner bays and brackish waters. They prefer warm water temperatures of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, and when the water temperature drops in winter, they burrow into the sandy bottom to overwinter, but if the temperature drops below 5 degrees Celsius, their movements slow down and they often die.
The season for prawns differs between wild and farmed prawns.
Natural products: The best season for natural products is summer, especially from June to August.
Cultured products: The best season for farmed products is winter, especially from December to February.
From this information, we can see that the season for prawns varies depending on the region and annual climate. However, it is generally said that natural foods are most delicious in summer, and farmed foods are most delicious in winter.