Achieve your dreams of having a sashimi feast while saving money!
Japanese supermarkets often stock fresh and yummy sashimi in the cold section, offering a much cheaper seafood snack option than those found in restaurants.
But our Japanese-language reporter Ikuna Kamezawa wanted to go one step further. Figuring there might be a way to shave a few hundred yen more off her grocery bill, she decided to test her theory that things usually cost less when made from scratch… by trying it with sashimi.
▼ She purchased a ready-made pack of amberjack sashimi (429 yen, US$4)
and a whole amberjack (322 yen) to test her hypothesis.
Ikuna had no idea how to prepare sashimi from whole fish, and so enlisted the help of her mother who had long years of experience growing up in a port city.
▼ Swift strokes made quick work of the fish.
▼ Placing the prepared sashimi side-by-side, the difference was immediately apparent.
▼ The pre-sliced amberjack weighed in at 91 grams (3.2 ounces)…
▼ …while the sashimi prepared by Ikuna’s mother came in at a whopping 351 grams.
Which meant that the pre-sliced fish cost 471 yen per 100 grams, and the whole amberjack at 92 yen per 100 grams, more than five times cheaper if you fillet it yourself.
▼ Not to mention that the fish bones can be used to make really tasty soup.
The results were very encouraging indeed, but this cost-effectiveness couldn’t just extend to amberjack, right?
Good thing Ikuna thought of that beforehand and bought some squid in the same fashion at another supermarket.
▼ Sashimi pack (430 yen) versus whole squid (610 yen)
▼ The pre-sliced pack amounted to a measly 36 grams…
▼ …and the entire squid yielded 201 grams.
So pre-made squid sashimi cost 1190 yen per 100 grams, compared to 303 yen if she did it herself, almost a four-fold difference in price.
Considering how much money she would save on sashimi in the future, Ikuna was glad she did a comparison test. Although to be fair she was only able to enjoy it thanks to her skilled mother, so if you don’t have a swordmaster parent or professional chef skills of your own, you may have to go for the pre-packaged stuff, or start studying the blade yourself.
Images: ©SoraNews24
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