I have eaten mantis :(

[zrograviti]

Ok.. today, I was looking at pictures of mantis shrimp, admiring how beautiful they are (especially the bright green ones). And, all the sudden it hit me! I've seen these before when I was a kid! They were served in a restaurant, steamed. To confirm, that what I ate was mantis, I looked up English-Korean dictionary. And yup.. I have eaten mantis.. I don't know, I eat seafood all the time and I love seafood.. It just feels weird knowing that I have eaten mantis shrimp. :(

[JNG567]

taste like normal shrimp?

[zrograviti]

If I remember correct, it taste kind of like (flavor wise) shrimp/lobster with texture of crab (softer than shrimp and lobster).

[Gonodactylus]

You and probably several hundred million other people have eaten stomatopod. In the Mediterranian, Squilla mantis is found in most seafood shops and there is a suggestion that it may have been the original "scampi". Several metric tons are still fished commercially in Italy and you can find it on many menus, particularly in Venice.

In Japan, Oratosquilla oratoria is heavily fished and is eaten in many forms. Stomatopod sushi is call Shako. My favorite is eating the small morsels of muscle from the raptorial appendages - particularly when it is being served to you by an attentive Geisha.

Throughout the Indo-Pacific, Lysiosquillina maculata is fished and eaten. In Tahiti, one large animal can bring over $50 in the market.

In Thailand, Harpiosquilla harpax females with ripe ovaries are roasted in their own fat over a charcol fire and are sold by street vendors.

And for those of you who keep Odontodactylus scyllarus, in Indonesia you can buy a plate of half a dozen large animals steamed for about $2.

Roy

[accr122]

Any idea why we can't find live mantis as seafood in canada ?

[Gonodactylus]

Because there are no stomatopods in Canadian waters. I have, however, seen Shako on the menu in a Sushi house in Vancover.

Roy

[biomekanic]

Occassionally, Misako's (a local sushi bar) offers it, I tried it once. Kind of rubbery and tasted like fish (more fishy than fish). It was cooked, and probably not the freshest in the world. My wife and I are regulars, and our waitress was horrified when I ordered it, she knew I had an O. scyallarus (sp) at home.

[slylie]

Originally posted by accr122
Any idea why we can't find live mantis as seafood in canada ?

any idea why we cant find mantis as pets in canada....


:(

[GinaSofia]

What about availability in the US?What"name" would it be under?

[pat101]

I eat them every now and then...we call them "rock shrimp"

It's pretty good meat but i prefer the regular type of shrimp

[Reggae Reefer]

I just found mantis shrimp in a Chinese restaurant in San Leandro, California. It is called Daimo. They had about eight live MS live in a tank. They are spearers(I think) that are about a foot long. They will sell them to you on a plate but will not sell them to you live(I asked). Why not serve kittens and puppies too? Who makes the list of what is/isn't ok to eat?

[brekurboy1]

Dood . . . Chinese people make the list of what you can eat and if it moves . . . eat it!!!!

I went to china as a part of getting back to my roots and man . . . we'll eat anything :P

Had a good time eating pigeon, jellyfish, 1000 year old eggs, sea cucumber and other assorted stuff that doesn;t translate :P

[zrograviti]

We Korean, too! Snake, fresh water turtle, bear liver, etc. People, usually older generation, also believe in myth that those weird foods are good for, you know what. Some of my old relatives always try to make me some, and they always fails. I always get away by saying, "Oh, that food is for that? No~! I don't need that. I need something that will do the oposite!" :)

[accr122]

Being a chinese, born in HK but now living in Canada; I too have eaten mantis as well :(

They were green, live and cheap; available in 80% of the seafood store/restaurant. Size range from baby 4 inch(length), up to the largest one I've had about a foot long, close to 2 inches wide.

Hey Roy, got a Q...

What are the thing inside the head & the back that is orange/red color when cooked? What do you call those?

[Reggae Reefer]

Originally posted by brekurboy1
Dood . . . Chinese people make the list of what you can eat and if it moves . . . eat it!!!!

I went to china as a part of getting back to my roots and man . . . we'll eat anything :P

Had a good time eating pigeon, jellyfish, 1000 year old eggs, sea cucumber and other assorted stuff that doesn;t translate :P

haha, I know, I am a total hypocrite. I eat shrimp and all kinds of seafood all the time.

How did you eat jellyfish though? Now that's one I didn't think was possible.

I was just really shocked to see a MS in a restaurant, I couldn't believe it. I read this forum all the time and haven't seen anything written about it, until the day I cam e back from seeing them. Also the restaurant didn't have a ton of animals, just a couple different live fish, so I wouldn't have expected to see something that "exotic".

They looked similar to Hemisquilla ensigera, but were at least a foot long.

[brekurboy1]

You don;t eat the whole jellyfish. Just the part that doesn;t sting i.e. the cap. They take the cap of the jellyfish and rip it off and shred it and then pickle it. It's rubbery and crunchy if you can imagine that. And being pickled it's salty and slightly tart. not fishy at all :)