Need help identifying an Asian sea food item

[cjolley]

I was trying to describe this one seafood item we ate in China to a friend and couldn't.
I have no idea what to call it and haven't been able to find a picture.

Naturally that made me think of MURC

It was in many restaurants and the buffet line at our hotel every day, so it must have been a common thing. At least in southern China.

It was a very pale color like cream or slightly pink and a bit translucent.
It's tail was 6-8" (15-20cm) long and shaped kind of like a lobster tail.
The meat was like flaky crab meat and very tasty.
The body was vaguely shrimp like, only flatter.
I seem to recall short legs and no, or very small, claws.

Any ideas?

PS Keep in mind that I haven't seen one in 2.5 years, so some details may be off.

[ZokesPro]

crawfish?

[cjolley]

crawfish?

I suppose it could be a relative, but that wouldn't be my guess.
It would be an awfully big one. Maybe 15" long total
Come to think of it, I don't really know it is not fresh water, just assumed it was sea life.

It could be a kind of lobster, shrimp, or crab.
Pretty generic crustacean body plan.

[Jon P. Inghram]

A giant isopod?

[cjolley]

Interesting, but no.
I would be much more rolly-polly if I had eaten that.

[schmosef]

Langoustines?

[cjolley]

Those are way too small.
It didn't have big claws.

[Sasq]

I proded that friend of mine you know about...

http://www.dzshb.com/2006-04/27/content_5379747.htm

chinese name: peepee shrimp

[cjolley]

Bingo!
Thanks Dan.
And thank her too for me please.


Lai Liu Shrimp (Lai Liu = peepee) don't ask. It tastes good though!


lai liu ha for Cantonese speakers, pi pi xia for mandarin speakers

Ah ha! It's a kind of Mantis Shrimp.
I'm on the trail...

In Japanese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is eaten as sashimi and as a sushi topping, and is called shako (蝦蛄).
In Cantonese cuisine, the mantis shrimp is a popular dish known as "pissing shrimp" (濑尿虾, Mandarin pinyin: lÃ*i niÃ*o xiā, modern Cantonese: laaih niuh hā) due to its tendency to urinate when cooked. Because of this, mantis shrimp are speared to induce them to evacuate their bowels prior to being introduced into the cookpot. After cooking, their flesh is closer to that of lobsters than that of shrimp, and like lobsters, their shells are quite hard and require some pressure to crack.
There are health concerns associated with consuming mantis shrimp, as they are known to dwell in contaminated waters, this is especially true in Hawaii where some have grown unnaturally large and are being consumed by poorer people. [1]