海老 · エビ · ebi
Ebi
Ebi is the butterflied, cooked shrimp draped over nigiri — sweet, firm and snappy, and one of the most beginner-friendly things on the menu.
- Also known as
- shrimp, prawn, kuruma-ebi
- Species
- Marsupenaeus japonicus (Kuruma prawn)
- Category
- Shrimp & crab (ebi / kani)
- Texture
- firm, snappy — sweet, clean
- Peak season
- —
- Sustainability
- varies — Farmed shrimp ranges widely; US/Canada wild and some closed-system farms rate best.
- Mercury
- Not in the FDA consumer table
- Pregnancy
- Generally safe
- Price tier
- $
Cooked, butterflied, classic
Ebi is cooked shrimp — traditionally kuruma-ebi (Japanese tiger prawn) that’s skewered straight, boiled, then butterflied and laid over the rice. Sweet, firm and snappy, with no fishiness, it’s a reliable gateway for raw-fish skeptics.
The craft
A good ebi nigiri shows care: the shrimp splayed open evenly, the rice visible through the butterfly, sometimes a dab of sweet sauce. It’s humble but it reveals knife and prep discipline.
Ebi vs amaebi
Cooked ebi is firm and clean; amaebi (raw “sweet shrimp”) is soft, slippery and sweet. Different animals, different experiences — see amaebi vs ebi.