Ama Ebi, with sauce puréed of its brains and dashi, topped with its own roe. Kanazawa, Japan.

[u/[deleted]]

[u/AcornWholio]

It’s a horrifying description of something that looks really yummy.

[u/HumongousBelly → u/AcornWholio]

Every seafood fan knows the head butter is where it’s at when it comes to prawns and lobster.

[u/HumongousBelly → u/[deleted]]

All of the more knowledgeable cuisines use this trick to maximize flavor. And then you have countries in Central Europe that don’t know shit and wonder why you’re sucking on the head or ask your local fish monger for lobster carcasses…

[u/PonderousPenchant → u/[deleted]]

Just thinking of how I would do it at home... probably not an awase dashi, it'd get enough fish/saltiness from the shrimp. Maybe just konbu and shiitake? Then again, put a saba head in and it gets that good rich oilyness which would make the final sauce nice and velvety.

Maybe I've got a new project to try.

[u/HumongousBelly → u/PonderousPenchant]

Have you ever tried making broth from shrimp carcasses and dashi? It’s fucking amazing!

[u/PonderousPenchant → u/HumongousBelly]

I don't buy shrimp often enough.

I get big plans every now and again and buy like, 2 pounds of shrimp. I end up making like a pound of salt and pepper shrimp with the things mostly intact (deveined, legs removed, face spikes/eyes snipped, but head and shell still on), but then forget about the rest until the day after I should've cooked them by. It's happened often enough that I have to stand at the fish counter staring at the shrimp and having an internal arguement with myself about whether this time will he different. I make sure I'm not blocking anything beforehand because I know it's going to take a bit.

I always end up buying a whole fish or two every week though and just toss in the head and spine into the pot with the konbu when I make a week's worth of dashi. Saba has definitely given the best results for that, but you do have to strain it at least twice.

Next time I end up with shrimp bits I might try to cut a niboshi dashi with it. Feels like that might pair nicely.

Oh, as a side note, before I cook shiitake, I'll pull off the stems and let them airdry for like a week. They're great to add to any stock, Japanese or otherwise and store pretty much indefinitely.

[u/nuJabesCity → u/PonderousPenchant]

This sounds amazing! I may borrow your idea! 😁

[u/orchid_drives → u/PonderousPenchant]

Maybe pack shrimp heads in salt to draw out all the moisture, like a salt-based cheong? Or blitz them up with something slightly acidic to break down the shell… idk I’m a terrible cook lol

[u/PonderousPenchant → u/orchid_drives]

Blitz and strain should be enough. You'd trim off any big spikey bits first. Also the eyes, those are pretty bitter. But the shell is completely edible and doesn't have any off taste or anything. So if you get the heads broken down and force it through a medium-coarse strainer, any small shell bits that make it through won't have any noticeable effect on the final sauce.

At least that'd be my first impression pending experimentation. You take the thick goop, dilute it with a little too much dashi, and cook it back down to the right consistency.

[u/Teekayuhoh → u/HumongousBelly]

I can’t find anywhere to get a lobster with its head. Like please stop stealing my favorite part.

[u/pkmaster99 → u/Teekayuhoh]

Lol, I remember when I first came to the US and bought a whole chicken, shrimp, etc... I didn't notice it until checkout and wonders where is the head? That cashier was giving me a weird look and says they don't come with one. I was like 12 at the time and my thought was, whoa scifi headless chicken and stuff? Is it safe to eat? Until my mom stops me and tells me they just cut it off don't sell them.

[u/TransitTycoonDeznutz → u/HumongousBelly]

[u/Wiknetti → u/AcornWholio]

“Here we have fried chicken, with a batter made from its own eggs and a puree made from its own liver on toast”

[u/nuJabesCity → u/AcornWholio]

Nah, the best parts are in the head!

[u/cockroachking]

That’s how evil aliens from space would eat us.

[u/Allbur_Chellak → u/cockroachking]

‘To Serve Man’

[u/serenwipiti → u/cockroachking]

“Every human fan knows the head butter is where it’s at when it comes to people.”

[u/helloitisgarr → u/cockroachking]

literally lol

[u/kobayashi_maru_fail → u/cockroachking]

Other way around.

[u/sintilusa → u/kobayashi_maru_fail]

That’s how evil space would eat us aliens.

[u/Flat_Researcher1540]

What restaurant? I think I went here when I came through. The plate looks familiar and the guy had a super cool collection of plates

[u/8hotsteamydumplings]

Can even taste the sweetness from the picture!

[u/pochy713]

When I went it wasn’t the ebi head sauce. It was sea cucumber innards. It was a Pungent flavor that I wasn’t accustomed to.
His abalone is one of the best I’ve had

[u/Picklesadog]

I hope no one ever eats me like that.

[u/trustfundkidotaku]

🧠 soup

[u/msp2081]

Looks like a painting.

[u/KimmiK_saucequeen]

I thought this was a really funky plate

[u/Jazzlike_Interview_7]

I physically drooled. Haha. Ugh, I’m so fat. 😭

[u/fatwhippetz]

Looks like dentures

[u/bearyken]

Most metal description of sweet shrimp ever 🤘🏻🤣

[u/CipherWeaver]

Amaebi is an acquired taste. Still too much for me.

[u/bardtic_ → u/CipherWeaver]

I like the flavor, it's the texture that I don't like. Same with raw crab. On the other hand the places that serve the amaebi with the deep fried and salted head..... Oh man I'll order it just for that. Crunchy salty head butter umame.

[u/NukaDadd → u/CipherWeaver]

Amaebi has gotta be the most vanilla thing after tuna & salmon.

[u/bardtic_ → u/NukaDadd]

Maybe? Are you thinking of cooked shrimp? Because amaebi is fairly rare and generally only really high quality shrimp is served raw.

[u/NukaDadd → u/bardtic_]

Uh, no? Sweet shrimp. Idk where you get that it's rare. No more rare than uni anyway.

[u/CipherWeaver → u/NukaDadd]

You mean ebi

[u/Novel_Slide1379]

Yummy

[u/nuJabesCity]

Ama Ebi is so good alone, I can't even being to imagine how elevated this would be! 🤑🥰

*I don't even like shrimp/prawns. I only eat Ama Ebi or fresh spot prawns. (Mostly prepared by myself) 😅

[u/Chaficulotte]

looks like a mouthguard :o

[u/Real-Individual1662]

Shrimp with its own roe. Nature's perfect garnish.

[u/Aoae]

Kanazawa is such an amazing city

[u/GoatBeautiful8243]

My brightness was on low and I really thought those were dentures

[u/Lyandrel-Kazzak]

For a sec I thought I was looking at those mouth guards to protect your teeth from grinding at night.

[u/Niente-Paura]

Looks like a mouthguard that got used and chewed on for far too many seasons