Monday Prep
Waitrose delivery lands. One session, ~2.5 hours, sets the whole week up. Build in order — the syrup and eggs need time to do their thing while you do the rest.
1
Rhubarb, Ginger & Lemon Syrup
45 min
Rough-chop 400g rhubarb, add 50g sliced fresh ginger, your frozen lemon skins (straight from frozen), 250g caster sugar and 300ml water. Simmer 20 min until rhubarb has fully collapsed. Strain without pressing (clearer result), add juice of 1 lemon. Bottle. Fridge 2 weeks. Start this first — it can bubble away while you do everything else.
→ Serve 2–3 tbsp over ice, top with sparkling water. Optional: fresh ginger slice or mint sprig.
2
Nitamago Eggs
10 min active + overnight
Bring water to full boil, lower 6 eggs gently, cook exactly 7 minutes. Ice bath immediately. Meanwhile, heat 4 tbsp soy + 4 tbsp mirin + 4 tbsp sake + 1 tsp sugar — bring to boil, 1 minute, cool completely. Peel eggs, marinate submerged in a zip-lock bag overnight minimum. Keeps 3–4 days in fridge.
FSA: soft-boiled marinated eggs safe for 3–4 days fridge. Use by Thursday. Hard-boiled versions last longer if preferred.
3
Quick Pickles (Tsukemono)
10 min + 1hr rest
Thinly slice 1 cucumber and 1 bunch radishes. Salt for 10 minutes, rinse, squeeze dry. Cover with 3 tbsp rice vinegar + 2 tbsp sugar + 1 tsp salt. Ready in 1 hour, last all week in brine.
4
Tsuyu Sauce
15 min
Combine 2 dashi sachets + 400ml water, bring to simmer. Add 100ml soy sauce + 80ml mirin + 1 tbsp sugar. Simmer 5 minutes. Cool, bottle. Use as noodle dipping sauce, donburi drizzle, salad dressing base all week. Lasts 7 days in fridge.
5
Chicken Katsu
30 min
Butterfly or pound 4 boneless chicken thighs to even thickness. Season. Flour → beaten egg → generous panko coat. Shallow-fry in 1–2cm oil at 170°C, 4 min each side until deep golden. Drain on rack. Cool rapidly, fridge in airtight container. Reheat in oven 180°C for 10 min, or air fryer — not microwave.
FSA: cooked chicken safe 3–4 days fridge. This batch covers Monday lunch + Tuesday bento. Freeze any surplus immediately.
6
Miso Almonds
20 min
200g raw almonds, 1.5 tbsp white miso, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp sesame seeds. Mix, spread on lined tray, 160°C for 15–18 min, tossing halfway. Cool completely before storing — they crisp as they cool. Airtight jar, 2 weeks at room temp.
→ Your crisp-and-chocolate replacement, all week long.
After prepping — Monday meals
Lunch
Oyakodon Chicken
Cook fresh while the prep session runs. Chicken thigh pieces simmered in dashi + soy + mirin + onion, egg dropped in at the end and barely set, over freshly-cooked Japanese rice. Use a portion of the tsuyu base. 25 minutes, no effort.
- Japanese short-grain rice, cooked fresh
- Chicken thigh, cubed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- Tsuyu base (from prep above)
- Sliced spring onion, nori strips to finish
Dinner
Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Linguine Fish
British asparagus season opens this week — use it now while it's extraordinary. Blister asparagus in butter, fold through crème fraîche, capers, lemon zest, good quality smoked salmon torn in. No cooking the salmon. 20 minutes. Finish with dill and a crack of pepper.
- Linguine (150g per person)
- British asparagus, woody ends snapped
- Smoked salmon, 150–200g
- Crème fraîche, 3 tbsp
- Capers, lemon zest, fresh dill
Use the whole pack of smoked salmon tonight — 200g is right for two. Buy a second pack for later in the week if needed.
Tuesday
Breakfast — pick one
See the week's three options below — or check the Snacks tab for the full rundown.
一
Japanese: Miso soup + rice + nitamago half + pickles
二
Western: Greek yoghurt + granola + rhubarb compote or strawberries
三
Simple: Sourdough + good butter + soft-boiled egg
Lunch
Chicken Katsu Bento Chicken
The panko payoff. Slice yesterday's katsu, reheat in oven or air fryer while rice cooks. Tonkatsu sauce alongside — make it from scratch in 2 minutes (Worcestershire + ketchup + soy + mirin + sugar, stir cold) or Bulldog from Waitrose.
- Chicken katsu (from Monday), reheated
- Freshly cooked Japanese rice
- Tsukemono pickles (from Monday prep)
- Nitamago half
- Edamame, salted
- Tonkatsu sauce for dipping
Dinner
Nasu Dengaku Veggie
Miso-glazed aubergine — halve two large aubergines, score the flesh deeply, roast cut-side down at 200°C for 20 min, flip and brush with the miso glaze (white miso + mirin + sake + sugar + sesame oil, blitz or whisk). Back in for 10–12 min until the glaze is lacquered and slightly charred. Over steamed rice with miso soup and sesame.
- 2 large aubergines
- White miso glaze
- Japanese rice, steamed
- Miso soup (dashi + miso + tofu + wakame)
- Sesame seeds, spring onion to finish
Wednesday
Breakfast — pick one
一
Japanese: Miso soup + rice + nitamago half + pickles
二
Western: Greek yoghurt + granola + rhubarb compote or strawberries
三
Simple: Sourdough + good butter + soft-boiled egg
Lunch
Cold Soba & Smoked Mackerel Fish
Cook soba to packet instructions, rinse aggressively under cold water and drain — this is what gives them their texture. Flake smoked mackerel over the top. Dress with thinned tsuyu (tsuyu + a splash of cold water + sesame oil + squeeze of lime). Cucumber ribbons, spring onion, nori strips, sesame seeds. Eat at room temp or chilled.
- Soba noodles, cooked and rinsed cold
- Smoked mackerel fillet, skin removed, flaked
- Tsuyu dressing (from prep)
- Cucumber, spring onion, nori, sesame
- Nitamago half (if any remain)
Dinner
Aglio e Olio with Toasted Panko & Asparagus Veggie
This is where the remaining panko earns its keep. Toast panko in olive oil until deep golden — it becomes your parmesan-meets-breadcrumb topping, the Sicilian trick called pasta con la mollica. Meanwhile, classic aglio e olio base: garlic, good olive oil, chilli, pasta water. Blanch asparagus in the pasta water. White beans stirred through for body and protein. Finish with masses of toasted panko, parmesan, lemon.
- Linguine or spaghetti
- British asparagus, cut into thirds
- 4–5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Tinned white beans (cannellini), drained
- Panko, toasted in olive oil until golden
- Parmesan, lemon, chilli flakes
Thursday
Breakfast — pick one
一
Japanese: Miso soup + rice + nitamago (last day) + pickles
二
Western: Greek yoghurt + granola + rhubarb compote or strawberries
三
Simple: Sourdough + good butter + soft-boiled egg
Lunch
Spring Pasta Salad with Tinned Tuna Fish
The cold pasta salad moment. Cook orzo or small pasta, cool under cold water. Drain tuna well, break up roughly. Toss with radish rounds, capers, fresh dill, thinly sliced spring onion. Dressing: crème fraîche + lemon juice + olive oil + a pinch of salt. Eat at room temperature — don't refrigerate the dressed version or it goes gluey.
- Orzo or small pasta, cooked and cooled
- Tinned tuna in olive oil, well drained
- Radishes, capers, fresh dill
- Crème fraîche + lemon dressing
- Spring onion, good olive oil to finish
Dinner
Soy-Glazed Chicken Thighs + Rice Chicken
Skin-on boneless chicken thighs, pressed flat. Start skin-side down in a cold pan — bring up to heat together, medium-high. Press occasionally. When the skin is lacquered and deeply golden (10–12 min), flip for 3 min. Remove chicken, deglaze with 2 tbsp soy + 2 tbsp mirin + 1 tbsp sake + 1 tsp grated ginger — reduce 1 minute, spoon over chicken. A bridge between the Japanese lunches and tomorrow's Friday spread. Serve with steamed rice and a simple sesame-dressed green salad.
- Boneless skin-on chicken thighs (2 per person)
- Soy + mirin + sake + ginger glaze
- Steamed Japanese rice
- Simple salad: watercress or rocket, sesame dressing
- Spring onion, sesame seeds to finish
Friday ✦
The Friday spread. Izakaya-at-home energy. Keep lunch light — you want to be properly hungry for this.
Lunch
Onigiri + Miso Soup Fish
Tuna mayo (tinned tuna + Kewpie or regular mayo, finely chopped spring onion) stuffed into rice balls, wrapped in nori. Or plain rice seasoned with sesame and salt. Miso soup with tofu and wakame alongside. Simple, satisfying, sets you up for cooking tonight.
- Japanese rice, freshly cooked
- Tinned tuna + mayo filling
- Nori sheets for wrapping
- Miso soup: dashi + miso + tofu + wakame
豚
Dinner — The Friday Feast
Tonkatsu Night
Pork cutlets, panko crust, the whole spread. Your remaining panko gets a final star turn. Four dishes, 45 minutes total, cook in this order.
The spread
Tonkatsu
Pork loin steaks, bashed thin, seasoned, flour→egg→panko. Shallow-fry 170°C, 3–4 min each side. Rest 2 min before slicing. Tonkatsu sauce: 2 tbsp Worcestershire + 1 tbsp ketchup + 1 tbsp soy + 1 tsp mirin + pinch of sugar.
Japanese Potato Salad
Mash slightly warm potatoes (leaving some chunks), mix with Japanese mayo, hard-boiled egg, cucumber rounds (salted and squeezed), spring onion. Season with rice vinegar, salt, white pepper. Slightly sweet, rich, perfect alongside. Make this first — it improves as it sits.
Sunomono
Thinly slice remaining cucumber, salt, rinse, squeeze. Dress with rice vinegar + sugar + soy + sesame. Sesame seeds on top. The acid cut the meal needs.
Miso Soup + Rice
Dashi + miso paste + silken tofu cubes + wakame. Add miso off the heat — never boil it. Freshly steamed rice.
Monday
Delivery day + prep day. Full prep session first — see the Prep tab for the order of operations. Meals shown here for reference.
Breakfast — pick one
一
Japanese: Miso soup + rice + pickles (nitamago ready from tonight)
二
Western: Greek yoghurt + granola + fruit
三
Simple: Sourdough + butter + soft-boiled egg
Lunch
Oyakodon Chicken
Cook this during the prep session — it's 25 minutes and mostly hands-off. Chicken thigh pieces + thinly sliced onion simmered in tsuyu until cooked through, egg poured in and stirred off the heat until just-barely-set. Over freshly cooked rice. Finish with nori strips and spring onion.
Dinner
Smoked Salmon & Asparagus Linguine Fish
First British asparagus of the season. Quick, elegant, spring-defining. Full notes are in the Prep tab.
Snacks & Fruit
The crisp-and-chocolate brief, answered properly. Everything below is either made on Monday or bought and ready to go.
Savoury / Crunch
The Savoury Hits
- Miso almonds — made Monday. Salty, umami, deeply satisfying. Better than crisps, not a compromise.
- Edamame — frozen, boil 5 min, heavy salt. The best pub snack that isn't pub food.
- Nori sheets — Clearspring, Waitrose. Eat straight, or toast briefly in a dry pan. Crisp, salty, zero guilt.
- Tsukemono — pickled cucumber and radish from Monday. Snack directly from the jar.
- Nitamago halves — with a pinch of togarashi if you have it. Great as a 4pm thing.
Sweet / Fruit
The Sweet Hits
- Strawberries — early season, just eat them. No embellishment needed yet.
- Rhubarb compote + Greek yoghurt — use some of the rhubarb (before it all goes into syrup) to make a 10-minute compote with sugar and orange zest. Keeps 5 days, works at breakfast and as a snack.
- Good dark chocolate — 70%+ from Waitrose. Paired with miso almonds this is genuinely next level. The salt/bitter/sweet thing.
Rice note
Rice crackers (kaki no tane, etc.) are an excellent addition if you find any at Waitrose — check the international/world foods aisle. Not essential given everything else here, but a nice crunch option.
The Soda Mixer
Rhubarb, ginger & lemon. The hibiscus replacement you didn't know you wanted. The rhubarb gives that tart floral note, the ginger gives the kick, the spent lemon skins do the aromatic heavy lifting.
Rhubarb, Ginger & Spent Lemon Syrup
The Recipe
Ingredients
- 400g rhubarb, roughly chopped
- 50g fresh ginger, unpeeled, sliced
- Your bag of frozen spent lemon skins
- 250g caster sugar
- 300ml water
- Juice of 1 fresh lemon (at the end)
Method
- Combine everything except the lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer.
- Simmer gently for 20 minutes until rhubarb has fully collapsed and the liquid is deeply pink.
- Strain through a fine sieve without pressing — you want clarity, not cloudiness. The leftover pulp makes excellent crumble filling or stir it into yoghurt.
- Add fresh lemon juice while still warm. Taste — it should be bracingly tart and intensely flavoured. It'll dilute significantly with sparkling water.
- Cool, bottle, refrigerate. Keeps 2 weeks.
Serving
2–3 tbsp in a tall glass over ice. Top with sparkling water. Optional: thin slice of fresh ginger or sprig of mint. It's a proper drink, not a cordial — more concentrated than you expect.
Variations
- With a kick: Add 2 dried chillies to the simmer for a surprisingly good result.
- Fancier: A dash of rosewater added off the heat pushes it closer to the hibiscus territory you liked.
- With alcohol: This is an exceptional base for a gin spritz or a vodka soda. Just noting.
Shopping List
Waitrose only. One shop, Monday. Check your pantry — Japanese pantry staples below are often already stocked.
Fresh & Chilled
Proteins
- Boneless chicken thighs, skin-on — 800g (katsu + Thu dinner)
- Pork loin steaks (or escalopes), 2 per person — for Friday tonkatsu
- Smoked salmon, 200g — Monday dinner only
- Smoked mackerel, 2 fillets — Wednesday lunch
- Eggs, large — 12 minimum (nitamago × 6, oyakodon, potato salad, tamagoyaki)
- Firm tofu, 400g — miso soups
Dairy
- Crème fraîche, 200ml tub
- Greek yoghurt, 500g
- Parmesan, small block (~100g)
- Butter (good quality, if not stocked)
Veg & Fruit
- British asparagus, 2 bunches — use now, seasonal
- Aubergines, 2 large
- Cucumber, 2 (pickles + soba + sunomono)
- Radishes, 1 bunch
- Spring onions, 2 bunches
- Fresh ginger root, ~100g
- Garlic, 1 bulb
- Rhubarb, 400–500g — syrup (and a little for compote)
- Lemons, 4 (syrup + pasta + dressings)
- New potatoes, 500g — Friday potato salad
- Strawberries, 1 punnet — seasonal snack
- Fresh dill, small bunch
- Watercress or rocket, bag — Thursday salad
- Cherry tomatoes (optional, Thursday dinner)
Tins & Dry Goods
Carbs
- Japanese short-grain rice (sushi rice), 1kg — Waitrose stocks Yutaka
- Soba noodles, 200g
- Linguine, 500g
- Orzo or small pasta, 400g
Tins
- Tinned tuna in olive oil, 2–3 tins
- Cannellini or butter beans, 1 tin — Wednesday aglio e olio
Nuts & Snacks
- Raw almonds, 200g — miso almonds
- Dark chocolate 70%+, 1–2 bars
- Granola (if not stocked)
- Clearspring nori sheets (world foods aisle)
- Frozen edamame (check frozen section)
Other dry goods
- Capers, 1 jar
- Caster sugar, if low
- Sparkling water, large bottles
Japanese Pantry — check before buying
- White miso paste (shiro miso) — Clearspring or Yutaka at Waitrose
- Mirin (cooking rice wine)
- Sake or dry sherry as substitute
- Soy sauce (Kikkoman, decent size)
- Rice wine vinegar
- Toasted sesame oil
- Sesame seeds, white
- Dashi sachets (Clearspring instant dashi, world foods aisle)
- Wakame dried seaweed, small pack
- Kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese mayo) — Waitrose often stocks this now
- Tonkatsu sauce (Bulldog brand) — or make from scratch (Worcestershire + ketchup + soy + mirin)
- Chilli flakes, togarashi if you see it
Food Safety Notes
Cooked rice: FSA guideline — maximum 24 hours in fridge, reheat once only. Cook per meal or freeze portions immediately after cooking and cooling. Do not leave at room temp.
Chicken katsu: 3–4 days cooked in fridge (FSA/UK guidelines). Monday batch covers Mon + Tue lunches. Freeze any surplus immediately.
Nitamago eggs: Soft-boiled marinated eggs: 3–4 days in fridge. Made Monday, use by Thursday. Source: Just One Cookbook (citing food safety guidelines).
Smoked salmon: Once opened, use within 2–3 days. Buy the Monday dinner pack for that night only. Thursday's pasta salad uses tinned tuna instead — more practical.
Rhubarb syrup: Strained, bottled, refrigerated — 2 weeks. Use a sterilised bottle.