Sushi is one of the most popular foods in the world today, especially in Japan. It’s delicious and healthful, whether it’s raw fish, rice, or vegetables. However, it is also pricey. So, do you have to pay $10 for each roll to have some sushi? The simple answer is no. You can have sushi for far less than that. Let’s look at why is sushi so expensive and how you can save money on your favourite cuisine.
Why is sushi so expensive? Sushi is extremely expensive because making good sushi requires high-quality, pricey ingredients (fish, rice), and trained chefs.
Sushi materials are imported, therefore transportation and taxes add to the cost. Sushi is also very expensive due to the fact that its ingredients are perishable and must be kept fresh.
7 Reasons Why is Sushi So Expensive
Here are the Top 7 Reasons Sushi Is Expensive:
- Sushi ingredients are expensive.
- A lot of planning
- Expensive labour costs
- You Pay for What You Can’t or Won’t Eat.
- Sushi is a perishable food.
- Taxes and Import Fees
- In high demand.
In this post, we’ll look at each of the reasons why is sushi so expensive and how you can save money on your favourite dish. Continue reading!
1. Sushi Ingredients Are Expensive
Sushi’s ingredients are one of the key reasons for its high price. Sushi requires high-quality, costly seafood and rice to taste excellent. One pound of good sushi rice, for example, can cost up to $12-$15, whereas fish might cost hundreds of dollars per pound.
Sushi also necessitates the use of ingredients from all over the world rather than those cultivated locally, which raises the price tremendously.
Sushi restaurants offer a variety of roles with various ingredients that must be accessible. Shrimp, fish, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, tuna, salmon, mackerel, flounder, swordfish, sea bass, eel, and other seafood are commonly used in sushi.
Read More: How to Bake Bacon in Oven Alton Brown
Restaurants must order each component from a separate country, for example, scallops and sea urchins from Japan, tuna from Europe, and amberjack fish from Australia or New Zealand.
However, not only is fish pricey in sushi. Consider avocado or matsutake mushrooms, both of which are commonly used in sushi.
To produce truly great sushi, these items must also be imported and used fresh. Sushi prices cannot be low when all sushi ingredients are evaluated.
2. A Lot of Planning
Sushi is a true art form, and art is pricey. Because sushi needs extensive preparation (marinating, chopping, frying, and boiling various components), chefs devote a significant amount of time to producing just one roll.
Sushi is manufactured in several phases, each of which takes a large amount of time, raising the price dramatically. To serve you the greatest taste of sushi, chefs must multitask and guarantee that all components remain fresh.
Chefs must also utilize expensive equipment to produce sushi, such as sushi chef tools, rice barrels, thermal rice warmers, tweezers, fish-scale remover, rolling mats, pots, pans, rice pressers and moulds, sushi serveware, and spatulas.
3. Expensive Labor Cost
It takes years to learn how to prepare authentic Japanese sushi that is both tasty and safe to consume. When producing sushi, chefs must consider many factors, including how to handle all of the components to avoid contamination and food poisoning from bacteria.
Because the sushi-making procedure is time-consuming, it may take a chef hours to prepare a batch of rolls. Chefs must also construct rolls with a variety of ingredients while also structuring their method to make better use of their time and decrease the possibility of bacteria spread.
Sushi chefs in high-end restaurants are compensated handsomely for their abilities, experience, and knowledge. Each sushi roll is regarded as an art form, and it cannot be inexpensive.
Fish must be fileted, shrimp must be boiled, cooled, and de-shelled, avocado must be finely sliced, and sushi rice must be correctly boiled to provide the desired texture.
When it comes to this aspect, restaurants are in competition and they do not want to lose highly trained cooks, especially Japanese chefs to competition, thus they must financially support them.
4. You Pay for What You Can’t or Won’t Eat.
Seafood is already pricey, but seafood for sushi is even more so because we are only provided with the nicest pieces, primarily fillets. So, when the fish is filleted, there is a lot of waste (bones, fins, head, and tail), which doubles or triples the fish’s already expensive price.
All sushi ingredients are expensive on their own, but when you are fed only the best pieces, the price skyrockets. Therefore, it’s no surprise that we have to spend $15 a roll at a casual sushi restaurant!
5. Sushi is a perishable food.
Sushi ought to be eaten fresh, within hours of being prepared, hence if the roll is not consumed in a day of being prepared, it is thrown away. Because sushi contains raw fish, eating it the next day can spread bacteria and cause food poisoning. Sushi ingredients have a short shelf life, therefore sushi businesses waste a lot of already expensive food.
6. Taxes and Import Fees
Because practically all sushi components are imported, there are significant transportation and tax costs that add to the already expensive sushi price. Restaurants must plan their logistics in order to obtain the greatest suppliers and the freshest seafood.
Daily deliveries from Japan, Australia, and the Mediterranean are made to top-tier restaurants. Some restaurants on the coast can use local ingredients and reduce the price of sushi, but fine dining restaurants that use the best foods from around the world must keep the price high in order to profit.
7. In High Demand
The last, but not least, reason for the high cost of sushi is its scarcity. Good sushi restaurants are always packed, which hikes up the price. In a few days, it is not unusual to have difficulty booking a sushi restaurant. Sushi prices are unlikely to go down as demand exceeds supply.
How Do You Eat Sushi on a Shoestring?
There are various options for affordable sushi. Instead of going to an expensive restaurant or buying sushi from a supermarket, you can always eat at a budget retailer like Walmart or Target. Another way to eat sushi on a budget is to cook it at home with our recipe!
This sushi takes around 30 minutes to prepare and tastes just like a genuine thing. Only a few simple materials are required: rice, nori sheets, sushi vinegar, salt, and sugar. Now comes the fun part: creating the sushi!
First, soak your rice in cold water for around 10 minutes. Then, according to the package recommendations, prepare your sushi vinegar and set it aside. Next, place a tiny amount of rice on a nori sheet and form it into a circle shape with your hands.
Place your filling (cucumber, salmon, or tuna, for example) on top of the rice and smooth out any creases with your fingertips. Finally, add another sheet of nori on top. Make sure there are no gaps between the loose nori pieces by pressing down firmly with your palms.
Also Read: How to Prepare Frozen Steam Buns
Sprinkle some salt or sugar on top of your sushi rolls before pressing them down with your palms to add more taste.
In conclusion
The first reason sushi is so expensive is that high-quality ingredients are required. The fish must be fresh, and the rice must have a proper texture for the sushi to be safe to eat. This means that there are several expenditures associated with obtaining these high-quality components, such as purchasing from a reputable supplier or hiring a competent chef. There are other expenses connected with keeping and preparing these items.
Fish, for example, must be refrigerated at specific temperatures to avoid spoilage, which raises the price.
Sushi also necessitates competent chefs in order to be safe to eat. Sushi chefs undergo extensive training, which necessitates a significant amount of time spent studying their profession before they can even work on their own.
This reduces their capacity to work and earn money while they are training, which adds up over time. Furthermore, sushi chefs are paid well because they are able to accomplish something that most others cannot. It is not uncommon for chefs to learn how to create sushi for years before they can get a profitable job in a fine dining restaurant.
Why is sushi so expensive FAQ
How much should sushi cost?
One sushi roll in a casual US restaurant costs $9-$15, however one sushi roll in a fine dining restaurant can cost up to $30. In a casual US sushi restaurant, expect to pay $30-$40 per person, and up to $100-$120 per person in a luxury Japanese sushi restaurant in major American cities.
Is it cheaper to buy or cook sushi?
Making sushi at home is far less expensive than purchasing it. In the United States, a store-bought sushi roll costs $7–$10, whereas a roll from a casual restaurant costs $9–$15, and a meal at a fine dining restaurant costs $30–$40. If you have all of the necessary equipment, you can make sushi at home for as little as $2 a roll.
Recommended