We have good reason to believe they’re plump.

Back in 2023, McDonald’s Japan expanded its side dish offerings to include Puripuri Ebi Purio, which could best be described as shrimp-filled Mc Nuggets. The Japanese word “puripuri” refers to something plump and jiggly, as one would expect shrimp to be. This is followed by “ebi,” which is the Japanese word for “shrimp,” another “puri” to really drive the point home, and a suffixed “o” in the theme of the Fish Filet-O, a backward reconstruction of the Filet-O-Fish sandwich sold in English-speaking countries.

However, their time was rather short-lived and eventually they were sent back to the vault of limited-time foods alongside the McRib and McPizza. Shrimp fans were happy to see it resurface last year, and now it appears to be an annual tradition because the Puripuri Ebi Purio is back once again.

For a limited time, these nuggets of shrimp meat breaded and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic will be sold in packs of five for 290 yen (US$2). They can also be bought as a part of McDonald’s popular late night Poté-Nagé combos that add a large order of fries and a five-pack of Chicken McNuggets, so you can sample and compare all of the sides at once.

And new this year is the inclusion of heart-shaped Puripuri Ebi Purio, which will be randomly mixed in with regular ones. So, if you happen to come across such a Puripuri Ebi Purio, know that it is your lucky day.

To celebrate this new chapter in shrimp snacks, a series of commercials will see Junichi Okada reprise his role as Puripuri Ebi Puri-Oh, in which “Oh” is the Japanese word for “King.” This time he will be joined by love interest Puripuri Purincess.

Having found a heart-shaped Puripuri Ebi Purio, will these two also find happiness together? Or will their romance be shattered by the rival potato and chicken factions in a tense battle for the McDonald’s side-dish landscape? Follow the series to find out…

In the meantime, McDonald’s will also be holding a contest in honor of the Puripuri Ebi Purio. On 17 September, the official Twitter account of McDonald’s Japan will post a special contest tweet. If you are following their account and reply to that post with the hashtag #ハートが出るかもマックのエビプリオ (“You might find a heart in McDonald’s Ebi Purio”) before midnight, then you might become one of the 100 lucky winners of a 1,000-yen ($6.80) McDonald’s gift certificate.

▼ The tweet will have an image like this.

The Puripuri Ebi Purio themselves will be sold from 17 September while supplies last. Luckily, McDonald’s has a very robust kiosk and smartphone ordering system, so you don’t have to practice saying “Puripuri Ebi Purio” out loud to anyone.

Source: McDonald’s Japan, Narinari.com
Images: McDonald’s Japan
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