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The markets of Bangkok and other towns near the coast offer a variety of prawns , or shrimp. Some are caught in the seas and rivers but nowadays most are products of prawn farming, a type of husbandry which has developed into an important industry over the past three decades. Three of the cultured species are the white prawn Penaeus merguiensis, the tiger prawn Penaeus monodon, and the spiny-clawed prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. The white prawn , kung chaebuai , also called the banana prawn, has a white body stipple with minute dots of rust-colored pigment. Fully grown,these prawns attain a length of 20 cm and more; however , harvesting may begin before they haveReached half this. These smaller ones, sorted and priced by size, are sold as kung chihae , which in the recipes are designated simply as prawns. The tiger prawn , kung kula dam , so called because of its black and white stripes. Is thegiant among Asian prawns,the females growing to over 30 cm long. Pond rearing of tiger prawns was more recently established than that of the white Prawn but is very promising. The spiny-clawed prawn, kung kam kram, known also as the giant freshwater prawn, in nature begins life in the brackish water of river mouths and the moves upstream. The second walking leg on each side is extremely long and ends in a large pincer studded with spines,hence the name. Spiny-clawed prawns whose entire bodies are blue are more tender when broiled or baked than those which are grey-green. This prawn approaches the tiger prawn in size, and for this reason, is sometimes called freshwater lobster. Smaller specimens are called kung nang , and indeed, there are a good number of other names of this prawn in Thai. The lobster found in Thai seas is the spiny lobster , kung mangkon, wih at least three species of the genus Panulirus represented,the largest and rarest of which grows to 70 cm. Because the claws are insignificant, the good eating is concentrated in the tail , and it is not only for the meat that they are prized, for their bodies have a baroque beauty which is breathtaking. A rather odd looking relative is the slipper lopster , kung hin , or kang kradan , Thenus orientailis , known also as the flathead ,or rock , lobster
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