AmaEbi – [Sushi|Foodlore]

Description

Amaebi – (Sweet shrimp.) –  Hiragana: あまえび Katakana: アマエビ Kanji: 甘海老,甘えび

• About: Amaebi are itsy bitsy, bright pink, deep sea shrimp, best served as freshly as possible; the fresher it’s served: the creamier and sweeter it tastes! – Legend has it that they were first accidentally discovered by a diver who proceeded to pluck them straight out of the water! – (in some versions the diver ate them then and there.) – Amaebi must have been very popular during the Edo period; because there are few yokai that seem to be named after this type of shrimp! Firstly, there’s a flying net cutting shrimp-like yokai included in Toriyama Sekien’s Hyakki Yagyo known as “Amekiri.” and also the ever popular, epidemic predicting & illness warding yokai known as “Amabie“, “アマビエ” who’s name also sounds quite similar. [though admittedly, I’m unsure if that last one is coincidence or not]