Mantis shrimp
Stomatopoda
Not Kosher
Description
Mantis shrimp is eaten in several cultures. In Japan it's boiled as a sushi topping called shako, in Vietnam it's steamed, grilled, or dried, and in Cantonese cooking it's deep-fried and stir-fried with garlic and chili. The Mediterranean species is common Adriatic seafood.
Most mantis shrimp live in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from eastern Africa to Hawaii. They live in burrows, either in soft sediment or in hard spots like coral cavities.
Also known as
- Mantis prawn
- Shako
- Sea locust
- Prawn killer
Mantis shrimp in foreign languages
| Scientific | Stomatopoda |
| Hebrew | טרפידים |
| Arabic | فميات الأرجل |
| Spanish | Estomatópodos |
| Portuguese | Tamarutaca |
| French | Stomatopod |
| Italian | Stomatopode |
| German | Fangschreckenkrebse |
| Greek | Γαρίδα μάντης |
| Russian | Ротоногие |
| Turkish | Peygamberdevesi Karidesi |
| Chinese | 蝦蛄 |
| Japanese | シャコ目 |
| Korean | 구각목 |
| Bengali | চিংড়িবাহার |
| Vietnamese | Tôm tít |
| Thai | กั้ง |
| Indonesian | udang ronggeng |
Warnings & Kosher Issues
- A stomatopod crustacean with no fins or scales, so it is not kosher. It isn't a true shrimp, but it's excluded all the same.
- Nicknamed thumb splitters because their raptorial strike can cut a careless hand.