【Reading】ほっこくあかShrimp

【English Name】Alaskan Pink Shrimp

Hokkoku-akaebi is a deep-sea shrimp of the family Pandalidae, commonly known as ama-ebi (sweet shrimp). It is about 12 cm in body length and pink to red-orange all over. It is distributed on the Sea of Japan side north of Shimane Prefecture and on the Pacific side north of the waters off Miyagi Prefecture, with its range spreading from the Sea of Okhotsk to the west coast of Canada. Domestically it lives mainly on sandy-muddy seabeds at depths of 200-600 m, with a suitable water temperature of 0-8 degrees C. It is a protandrous hermaphrodite, changing from male to female at around 4-6 years of age. Its lifespan is about 11 years. Its sweetness derives from amino acids such as glycine and alanine, and increases as self-digestion (autolysis) progresses after the catch. Besides nigiri and sashimi, the midgut gland of the head (ebi-miso, shrimp paste) is also rich in umami.