School of Fish - Ebi

by Sarah J. Gim, Posted Mar 16th 2006 @ 11:19PM

shrimp sushi - ebi We're continuing our parade of typical, and soon, the not-so-typical, fish and seafoods at the Slashfood sushi bar. For those of us who may not be so adventurous, there are a few cooked items to choose from. One of them is ebi.

But be not fooled. "Ebi" is just a general term for shrimp sushi, and can come in raw forms, too. If you do order just "ebi," it usually is steamed or boiled shrimp that has been butterflied and draped over the rice. This, however, would not be my choice since (other than the fact that I have an on-and-off allergy to shrimp) it is often dry and chewy.

If you can stomach the idea of raw, try amaebi, which is a raw shrimp. The flesh is light, tender, somewhat sticky, and sweet. The shrimp are often small, so there may be two small amaebi placed side by side on the rice, then belted on with a strip of nori. When amaebi are larger, they are called botan ebi.

Previous lessons at the School of Fish:
Saba - holy mackerel!
Hirame - white fish, sometimes halibut
Tai and Suzuki - snapper and sea bass
Maguro - tuna
Toro - fatty belly of tuna
Shiro Maguro - "white" tuna, aka albacore
Ahi tuna
Hamachi - amberjack, aka yellowtail
Sake - salmon
Gai - the bivalves, i.e.clams, scallops, and oysters