DELICIOUSLY INVASIVE Ep.5 | Freshwater Prawns in Hawaii 

I love that like 80% of the invasive species to freshwater taste better than most of the native fish. Get to take as many delicious invasives as I want

In a Chinese restaurant you'll see it called 'Salt pepper shrimp" they cook the shrimp so hot, the shell becomes like potato chips and you can eat the whole thing. Some places don't cook it quite hot enough so you have to be careful sometimes. A shrimp has two spines to be aware of: One in the center of the tail called the telson. And one that's between the eyes. When I eat salt pepper shrimp, I make sure to bite down on those two first and chew 'em up. It's very healthy!

"You guys head suckin?" Is a wild sentence.😂

I feel like a crawfish trap would be highly useful there. You need to go to Louisiana/Mississippi, you'd freak them out with how much you're able to eat and how much of the fish/crawfish/prawn you eat. They suck heads in the south, but they don't eat the shells.

These videos are so much fun! I’ve always loved Taku’s approach to sustainability while also enlightening us to so many delicious catches

Loved Ryans reaction to eating prawns this way and digging right in .

Taku, and Jocelyn, your blogs are so immersive and this is a stellar edition. thank you for sharing this incredible venture, it was sensory and so delightful. excited for this series to continue!

Great episode Taku. Nice to see you and Jocelyn back in Hawaii again. Eating the shell on is the only way to eat shrimp & prawns. Ryan's a cool dude. Can't wait for the next Hawaiian adventure. Aloha

In the mid 70’s I helped harvest prawns on Oahu. They were raised in long red dirt ponds & we’d wade in with a net stretched across & slowly walk to the other end. Then scoop the prawns 🦐 up & put them in live tanks & sell them to Mom & Pop markets in Chinatown. Great memories 😂. Thank you for sharing..

I like that guy’s attitude. Seems happy and fun to be around. Im a quiet and shy kinda guy, so i really appreciate people like him.

Aloha Taku, we kanaka (natives) catch those prawns at night it’s easier and larger. Many of the ones you’re catching are babies Trying to hook up with some of the native peoples they can teach you a whole lot

you should definitely do another episode on To’au and Ta’ape. they are invasive snapper also introduced to hawaii

I think Ryan’s a good fit for this Hawaiian series! Chill guy

Ryan is hilarious. Reminds me of the turtle in Finding Nemo.

Um. I think Ryan wasn't fully educated on how we hunt for the prawns round here. The way the we like to do it on the Island I'm from is not to spear them but catch them in baited traps, we then put them still alive in buckets of clean water and let them filter out the mud inside them before cooking. When you see the color of the water after you'll see why, when you taste the difference of the food you'll know why.

growing up in Hawaii I use to make prawn traps similar to the crawfish traps with funnel on both ends. I found that if you put a half a coconut shell with the hard meat in it that the prawns will eat all the meat from the shell. I would get like 15-20 a day and would always throw back the ones with eggs and only harvest what we would eat. Over the years the population of prawns decreased when there was a increase in people catching them and taking as much as they could harvest.

2 of my favorite RU-vidrs doing a collaboration, un real footage. Cheers guys lots of love from Australia ❤️

I’m so happy you guys get to chase your dreams, this is an amazing step in your guys life and I’m truly honored to be able to watch along

Love this video. In British columbia we take a egg whisk and cut off the round parts so many small points. We just use it with a hand spear like you no elastic. With the egg wisk you have about 20 tines so you can stab many spot prawns or tahitians and tunes are so small diameter no damage. Thanks for great content

Genuinely feel like a net would’ve been more efficient when it comes to harvesting those little guys, still got it done tho!

Watching your vids while studying is such a vibe. I can actually get work done!

Crustaceans that you can eat shell and all are the best. Grey crangon shrimp from the North Sea, softshell crab, sushi prawn heads. yum

I remember with fondness, going out with my four siblings to hunt Cherax destructor, the Australian freshwater crayfish. We'd tie pieces of rotten meat to string and dangle it down yabby holes until one grabbed it. We'd go out most Saturdays and it was great fun. After letting the yabbies sit in water to filter out mud and whatnot, the critters would be cooked. We also enjoyed going to watering holes to do fishing most weekends.

I've been waiting for another episode of deliciously invasive. Thank you Taku!

When I was a little kid we used to fly to maui for the weekend and catch prawns. We didn’t 3 prong them like you did, because we found them in a wide shallow stream, we used sticks to scare them into our opae nets. The uncles held the nets while the kids scared the prawns lol

Awesome collab! Great to see you and Ryan! he'll have you diving deep in no time, and you'll help him cook da catches! Looking forward to Taku's take on a lau lau soon\m/

No way! This is the collab I never knew I needed. I have been watching both of you for a while but never thought of both of you collabing! Great episode.

Said it before, but I love this series and it's concept. Gw Taku for bringing this sort of stuff to people's attention and making this series. Keep it up.

Yessss, my favorite food is salt n pepper shrimp. Fried whole, the heads always have such an amazing flavor that so many people are missing out on tossing it! Branch out and try whole prawns 🦐 they’re legitttt

Taku, you a true Asian eating that whole prawn. Love it bro. Always keeping it real

Another banger! Awesome to see some prawns fried whole and eaten whole and unpeeled. That's my favorite

Stoked you guys linked up! Glad to see another in this series too!

In San Diego when you fry them like that and eat it whole, they call them "Cucarachas". This is one of my favorite catch and cooks!

Keep this going!!! More catch and cook on invasive species

I HOPE EVERYONE IS HAVING FUN. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR SHOWING SOME OF US THAT CAN'T GET TO SEE OR GO TO HAWAII. PLEASE TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND EVERYONE.

Can’t wait to see more of your Hawaii Adventures Taku. Great to see you doing colabs with Ryan and Justin. Hopefully you’ll do more colabs in Hawaii with other local you tubers when you guys get back from NZ. Alohas 🤙🏽

Shell on always! That's how I know a good restaurant. When they serve the fried heads >>

WOW… still remember way back in the 70s growing up catching prawns in the streams behind our house in Hawaii with my cousins and my sister… wow.. the memories

I was just wondering when we'd get another one of these videos, glad to see they're still coming :)

1:36 Taku was like mannnnnn I wanted to get some for later 🥲

Taku, you should meet Kimi Werner, a free, speer fishing, diver. She's amazing!

18:49 That's some magical glowing cornstarch right there✨✨

Been waiting for another episode in this series. Keep it up!

Ahh this the best collaboration I could ask for always love finding dive channels hope I get to learn one day amazing video as always taku❤the shrimp arms are hilarious

Boy Scout moto has benefited me for decades. Always be prepared 🙂🐟

Lmao it’s funny how he was so shocked by eating the whole shrimp 😂

I love the beers after successful catches. Great show

Great video as usual. Thought you might want to see an article from a Hawai'i island magazine on the topic of the Tahitian prawns (macrobrachium lar.) It was published by Ke Ola magazine in 2021 and titled Mālama Mokupuni/Caring for Our Island Environment: Life and Death in the Stream-‘O‘opu, ‘Opae, and Tahitian Prawns. It talks about how people are using pesticides in the rivers to catch the prawns, killing native species simultaneously, like the ones you ate. Your video on Justin and his ohana's sandalwood farm showed you, Ryan, and Jocelyn after filming this outing so I'm assuming you're all alright.

Just re-watching some old episodes. I loved this deliciously invasive episodes, would be happy for more 💜 from 🇦🇺

Ryan is not a well liked guy here in Hawaii. He glorifies the hidden areas that we have used for centuries as a source of sustenance. All for social media status. It's a shame. From Us Kanakas to Ryan.... no can. But I will still follow and love Taku though.

The link for Ryan Myers expeditions doesn't work. You can search him in the search box then you will find him. The prawns 🦐 look delicious with that recipe. 😋 Looks like a lot of fun.🤗

cant wait for the video with ryan to come out. long time loyal follower of him and urs too

I think a trap overnight would catch a ton also. But I hand catch river crayfish here in the California. It's super fun!

This is the best food series on youtube. Such an awesome collab, hopefully Ryan gave Taku some diving tips and tricks. What a legend

I brought up your channel the other day in my biology class and my professor played one of your videos for the class it was sick haha

Glad to meet you in Kona, awesome episode! looking forward to seeing the next adventure!

I love your enthusiasm brother! It definitely makes me want to see what delicious food made from invasive species you're gonna make next. I'm from Maine,so I really liked your shout out in the green crab flick.✌️

Those prawns looked mean! The crunch looked unreal and the video made me miss Hawaiʻi isʻand. My family in the Marquesas islands they also hunt them at night by spearing um from the surface and eat um cooked in coconut milk. Thank you for the recipe and spearfishing inspiration!

Have either of these guys heard of a crawfish trap? That's how they catch them in Louisiana. They call them "prawns", but to me, they look a lot more like crawfish, especially with their claws. Also, you can keep them alive until right before you eat them.

Growing up on Moloka'i we used to make three prong spears for prawns out of those old wire clothes hangers. We'd solder three points on to one end and tie rubber bands onto the other end instead of surgical rubber tubing. They were smaller and easier to use then the regular three prongs. Also, because these prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, are catadromous and live their juvenile stages in seawater and adult stage in freshwater (apposed to anadromous like salmon) , they get larger the farther upstream you go.

So excited to see this series back!!! Do you think you could catch them with fine-meshed crab traps?

I saw this video yesterday. I tried out the recipe this morning.....it was so ono (delicious). Gonna make this more often.

The song at the end of the videos is becoming nostalgic for me. Great video as always!

These prawns are great fun on ultra light tackle with worms bait, that’s how most anglers catch them here in South east asia. Very delicious and getting more and more expensive to buy.

Nice to see you have a couple of Prawns with your fried Garlic and Ginger root.

I think Brook and Victor’s lobster net and tickle stick would work good for these prawns. Or even crawfish traps.

I speared freshwater prawns in Costa Rica. They live in the rivers along the Pacific beaches. We used lights at night to see their eyes and used a spear like the one in the video but with no bands, just hand powered I. They were the tastiest shrimp I've ever eaten, and I grew up catching shrimp in Florida. The meat was sweet and delicious. We bumped into a Fer de Lance (viper) once. You'd probably have better luck at night with a good flashlight. Shrimp and prawn eyes glow pink at night when light hits them. Just look for a spot with shallower water and walk. I bet those would be awesome bait, especially right by the mouth of the river.

Watching from Kona Hawaii……hey Taku! Ima Bay Area native, and I could tell the moment I happened upon ur vids that ur from there as well. Great vids, and proud ur representing my old home as u travel around and share ur experiences! 👍🏽🌺🏄‍♂️🌞🌴🔥😎

I have had garlic prawns from several roadside vendors and a prawn farm in Oahu.I thought they tasted amazing.

Deliciously Invasive episodes are so good!

I'd love to see you guys set traps (like crawfish type ones) for them and see if you can cathc a ton of them.

Here in Louisiana we catch crawfish in traps. We typically eat 3-5lbs per person per meal so the idea of trying to spear them one by one seems a bit inefficient. Leave them baited and set and check them every morning is the way to go. Keep the live until you have enough for a boil.

What a collab!! Two of the best to do it

Extra fried shrimp legs, shell and head (if there’s no horns) are delicious. They have to be eeeextra crispy fried though.

Man, it just doesn’t get any better than that…. I’m used to the crawfish from the Gulf of Mexico…. But it’s the best when fresh!

Yay! I’ve been waiting for another episode of this series. Thank you.

23:54 "you guys head suckin'?" had me dying of laughter

Where I grew up in the PH we call these ULANG, we find and catch them in rocky rivers of less than 1ft deep.

I love this video!❤❤ I moved from Hilo back to Maui and miss going to these places and gathering, surfing and enjoying how truly special these places are. Taku your a great humble chef, I appreciate your creative cooking style and enjoy your vibe. Subscribed!

I LOVE Ryan!!! So stoked you guys are collaborating I can't wait to see some more videos

Freshwater prawn are particular sweet I remember back decades ago we used to play around river from falls there's abundance of them. The small fishing net could help in catching them easier

They look like crayfish. Here in the Philippines we bait them with fresh grated coconut. Squeeze it underwater and they will crawl to where that grated coconut is at. Put the grated coconut inside a trap and you're guaranteed to catch enough to fill a bucket...

The shell is the best part of the prawn. Crunchy and delicious!

They look the same as Samoan prawns. Usually caught when the streams are low and cooked in coconut cream. Very tasty.

I love me some long claw river shrimp!🦐 ...they're the love child of a lobster and a shrimp😊

That prawn hunting looks fun I could do that all day

How crazy. I just went to hilo for vacation a few weeks ago and we hung out at this exact spot. Had no idea there were PRAWNS swimming with us. Old cane factory in the trees behind. Very fun spot.

Yessssah the mill always provide 🤙 one of the best surf spots growing up………fun fact this spot is right next to an old sugar mill there’s old railroad tracks all over this place that’s why you see a lot of metal in the water. Welcome to Hawai’i guys!

I remember catching these prawns as a kid from a small stream near Pearl harbor. I'd catch about a dozen or so and take then home. We cook them up for dinner is was great!

Ryan's channel is one of my all time favorites

Brain fart! At 18mins., you're talking to Ryan about freediving. Was thinking, if able to connex w/her, see if you can getta hold of Kimi Werner. She's world-champion freediver + culinary-trained chef/cook + Mom(Not necessarily in that order)...Just putting it out there for future reference....

Love these trip videos. Would love to see one going more in depth in Canada. Especially in the East Coast

When I was a kid me and this neighbor guy went up the stream that Sacred Falls is at the top of, and we hand-caught some. Some. Mostly we got their pinchers. We didn't get very many, and it was pretty hard work for a little food, but this was the 1970s - you'd not believe how hard a person would work for a little food in the Starving Seventies. Looking at this now, I wonder if (a) traps would work best or (b) make a thing like your poke pole, but instead of bat on a hook, you put bait that's in the middle or something the prawn will get tangled in. They grab it and try working in to get at the bait, and when you pull 'em up, they can't disentangle in time.

so cool.....very nice relaxing, chill time...and some dang yummy prawns...whoo...that is life..

Yes! The collaboration I asked for months ago!

Alright I'm definitely going to go for these when we go back to the islands.

I haven't been down mills in so long. good to know its still getting use.

Let's get 30 of them not because there's a limit but because that's all one person can eat. Now that's my kind of seafood.

Quick lil buggers! I miss Hawaii and we were only there a few months ago

I'm a new subscriber to both channels and I have been binge watching all the videos from new to old and I'm addicted. My husband and I can't wait to go try the poke polling in the bay and the springs in Canada, go fishing in Japan and catch freshwater shrimp in Hawaii. Your videos are sooo informative, genuine, and inspiring and I can tell both of you put so much passion, attention to detail and hard work in your videos. I loved your message of kindness in one of your past videos it is so true. I have tried the Kelp Chili Crisp on practically everything and it is good on everything... I am sure you will have great success with this product can't wait for the next one!!! Just wanted to write my first comment after watching your act of kindness video. You guys will succeed. Your living the dream and letting us all live it with you by making these videos.