🐟 Ebi Mame (Shrimp and Beans)

Shrimp and Beans is a local dish of Shiga Prefecture made by boiling sweet and spicy shrimp from Lake Biwa with soybeans and is rich in calcium and protein. In Shiga Prefecture, soybeans and azuki beans are grown on the banks of rice fields. Since ancient times, dishes using soybeans have often been eaten at celebrations, rituals, and festivals. Shrimp and Beans is one such dish. Shrimp and Beans can be made with inexpensive ingredients and are also eaten daily because it is easy to preserve. It is also eaten on New Year's and other auspicious days with the hope of longevity, as a common saying is "May they live long until their hips bend like shrimp." Lake shrimp live widely in shallow waters where aquatic plants grow in Lake Biwa and live within 10 m of water from spring to summer, which is the breeding season. In winter, they move to deeper places, and the traditional fishing method "Shrimp Tatsube Fishing" is used. From spring to summer offshore fishing nets are used. Shrimp tatsube fishing is a traditional fishing method that uses a special basket called a "tatsube"and puts bait in the basket and sets it in the water. It is a mechanism that prevents shrimp that have entered the basket from coming out. In addition, offshore net fishing is a type of bottom trawling method that uses fishing boats to set up nets and roll them up.