I've eaten 10-12cm long with the head and shell fried till crispy.

I think it does most Westerners.

I wonder if there is a thread asking if one ever eats a shrimp without deveining it. I never devein mine when cooking.

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I have tried it, especially after reading about it being done in Texas, but really don't like it, they get stuck in my teeth and I don't like the crunchy with the soft.

The first time I came across this problem was many years ago on a train in Spain. The shrimp was served over rice in a tomato sauce. It never dawned on my to eat the shells, so I struggled with a knife and fork to peel them. :)

Yes, but only if the shells are hard crisp.

Same here. Super crisp shells are pretty yummy.

I came across some at a Chinese buffet one time. I thought the chef was just being lazy. How well does the body digest these things?

Neither do I, even large shrimp. Some claim there can be grit in the intestinal tract, but I've never noticed it.

Any good cook knows that when you discard the head and tail of shrimp, you throw away half the flavor. I do, at least, shell them before putting them in my mouth. It's probably healthier if consumed whole - fiber and all that!

In Seattle, I went to a sushi restaurant that served a live shrimp, shell removed from the body, antennas twitching . After you ate the body, the chef deep fried the head and you ate it as well. My wife thought the whole thing barbaric and was likely right, but it was delicious.

Oh, yuck!!!

Nope. Don't think I will. Don't like the vein, the tail, the head, the shell. Come to think of it, I prefer using shrimp for bait to eating them.

My dining companion last night was slightly offput when I chomped
through my shrimp heads, but she already knows what to expect
and didn't offer much comment.

Living in Asia, we often eat the entire shrimp/prawn. Head, tail and everything between.

When I am back in Canada, I remove the tail from cocktail shrimp as its often too hard to enjoy.

Mmmmmmmmm....., Salt and Pepper Shrimp/Prawns (椒盐虾 / jiāo​ yán​ xiā​)

One time in Florida I thought it would be cheaper to get live shrimp at the bait shop instead of shopping for dinner at Publix. The girlfriend thought I was nuts. :D