Two Nigiri rolls in most restaurants runs $5 and up – I usually order Maguro, Sake and Hamachi and rarely does a lunch end up costing less than $20 . And I’ve on occasion paid more. But when you realize that one Nigiri roll is rice and less than an ounce of fish – Fish which averages $10/lb – The markup becomes very evident.

Around here we have a fish monger who will sell sushi grade salmon for $12/lb and tuna for $13/lb. Sushi rice (medium grain, not the normal long grain) is cheap, and the little rice vinegar to season it is equally inexpensive. Pickled ginger and wasabi powder can be picked up in almost any supermarket.

One drawback to DIY Sushi – Since you’re only using 3-4 oz per person, and most fish mongers don’t like to sell such small portions, it becomes a challenge to create plates with a variety of fish. Usually it’s Sake today, Maguro tomorrow and so on.

And my knife skills still need some work, but all in all, a sushi dinner for 20% of what the restaurant charges is nothing to sneeze at!