At Eat The Kiwi, every so often we find ourselves contemplating if what we have is considered “best of the best” or rather, “rarest of the rare.”

When it comes to scampi — specifically ones from New Zealand — though, we can tell you with 100% confidence that we have the best of both worlds!

To start, New Zealand scampis are rarely found in Hong Kong, and are usually only reserved for the top restaurants. Still, this is hardly surprising given that these lobsters measured at 15-20cm in length is protected by New Zealand’ Quota Management System, limiting its catches to only several tons a year.

Putting things in perspective, Langoustine — commonly known as Norway lobster — has catches of up to 60,000 tonnes a year. What a staggering difference that is!

To further pinpoint whether you’re looking at NZ Scampis, be sure the check that they are caught from one of the following 4 locations: Campbell Plateau, Chatham Rise, Wairarapa Coast, or the Bay of Plenty.

With lifespan of up to 12 years, that’s plenty of time for these Kiwi goodness to enjoy all the clean and pristine water that surrounds the New Zealand coastline!

Now, how do you care for these delicacies once they’ve arrived at your doorsteps?

First and most importantly, gently place them inside the freezing compartment of your refrigerator with temperature no higher than -18°C. Scampis can be kept frozen anywhere from 3-6 months!

When it comes time to enjoy them, only defrost them 2 hours before eating — rinse them off with water until the bodies soften up. To keep the shrimp paste from going bad, never defrost them overnight nor under room temperature.

Once they are ready to be cooked, simply follow the step below:

1. Peel off the shell but keep the head and tail sections intact.
2. Devein the shrimp and remove the sandbag.
3. Place the entire scampi in ice water for one minute.

There you have it! Start eating by first peeling off the tail and ingest every bite from the tail up.

As a side note, this creamy and outrageously delicious dish is best served with 2 slices of lemon on the side. This is entirely up to you, though we do strongly recommend it for aesthetics and taste reasons!

In the usual Eat The Kiwi fashion, we like to keep things short and sweet, and let pictures do the justice — tag your scampis @eatthekiwihk!

Enjoy!