Scampi is the term typically used for a type of seafood, and it is also used as a culinary term for some types of prawns, especially the ‘true’ Scampi Nephrops Norvegicus, but depending on where you live, “Scampi” can mean many different things. …
In India, the term ‘freshwater prawn’ is generally used to refer to Macrobrachium rosenbergii shrimp, which is also known as ‘Freshwater prawn’ or ‘Malaysian prawn’.
Several types of lobsters are also classified as king prawns, but in the UK the ‘legitimate’ king prawns, as defined by the Food Standards Agency, are Norway lobster (Nephrops Norvegicus), normally found in the Adriatic, parts from the western Mediterranean Sea and the Irish Sea, which is why its name in Ireland and some parts of the UK is Dublin Bay Prawn.
In Italy, “Scampi” is the plural of Scampo, which is the Italian species name for what we call the Dublin Bay shrimp.
In France they use the word prawn instead of Scampi and in the United States, “Scampi” turns out to be something different. – “Scampi” usually appears on the menu as what in the UK and most of Europe you would call shrimp, especially in Italian-American cuisine. The phrase “Scampi”, by itself, can be the name of a dish of shrimp cooked in garlic butter and dry white wine, often served with bread or over pasta. In the United States, the word “prawn” is normally interpreted as a type of preparation and not as a specific ingredient, hence the seemingly unnecessary “shrimp prawn” or even the seemingly impossible “chicken prawn.”
Although certain countries and some people still think that Scampi is “prawn” or based on shrimp, they are in fact WRONG. The fleshy tail of the Norway lobster has a flavor and texture more similar to lobster and crayfish than to prawn or shrimp.
