What if you embark on a new business in 2023? Japanese cuisine, manga drawing… Get started!

At the beginning of the year, some may make resolutions. Instead, Journal du Japon invites you to take on new challenges and discover new activities. Cooking, drawing… Clear and practical books are there to accompany you!

Cooking with two wonderful books: the basics of Japanese cuisine, and noodles in all forms in a 100% vegetable version

Let’s start with Flavors of Japan Of Laura Kie And Aline Princet garlic Mango Editions, a book that combines essential and more personal recipes, but also encounters with different Japanese personalities or with close ties to Japan. A beautiful large format book to discover the taste of Japan.

Start with various details about this taste of Japan. First an explanation of Japanese cuisine: ancestral cuisine nourished by influences, cuisine of centenarians, cuisine to the rhythm of the seasons and cuisine that combines flavor and aesthetics. It is also about umami, a word that alone characterizes Japanese cuisine, and which is much more than the fifth flavor with which it is often decorated. Finally, there is a question of the classic composition of meals in Japan.

Then come the basics : the classic Japanese food presentations to have in your pantry, with nice and large photos of the different ingredients, as well as the definition of each product presented. Ditto for fruits, vegetables and herbs used in Japanese cuisine. We then move on to making the sauces (with the chef’s advice on how to use them, which dishes to pair them with). A double page is dedicated to seaweed, an important ingredient in Japan. You will also learn in this part how to make relish, furikake, tsukemono, takuan, bok choy with umeboshi. And of course for cooking rice, preparing dashi (with a vegetarian version), miso soup or suimono with mushrooms.

In every important part of the book you will find a portrait which will make you discover a personality around a few questions: What are your favorite Japanese dishes? Your flagship product? Do you have one or more memories associated with it, such as your “madeleine de Proust”? What is your connection with this kitchen today? A little tip or a piece of advice to share? It’s always exciting to discover or rediscover someone’s relationship with cooking.

The following parts are organized:

• around Rice : sushi, maki, but also oyakodon, gyudon, onigiri and other items to put in a bento box
• around noodles : soba salad or with duck, udon, somen, ramen… with the addition of shiitake gyoza
• other starred dishes : tempura, tonkatsu, niku jaga, karé rice, but also fish, yakitori, without forgetting shabu-shabu, sukiyaki, oknomiyaki and many others
• around vegetables, tofu and egg : salads (persimmon, nashi and avocado for example!), vegetables cooked in different ways (especially aubergines), tofu recipes, chawan mushi etc.
• And for the sweet tooth, a chapter sweets (and drinks) : anko as a base, different wagashi, kumquat mochi, fluffy matcha pancakes, castella, dorayaki, daifuku, matcha chocolate fudge and gourmet drinks around tea, sake.

The recipes are simple and well explained. The photos illustrating them are superb. And the set is completed by beautiful photos of Japan throughout the seasons.

It’s colourful, exotic… as if we were going to Japan for a while, immersing ourselves in the photos and making these recipes that are part of the daily life of the Japanese.

Safe travels, good preparation, good tasting: and don’t hesitate to send us photos of your dishes!

More information on the publisher’s website.

Another cooking book for you this year: ramen and co Of Cheynese garlic La Plage Editions, a 100% vegetable pasta recipe book. Something to be enjoyed all year round with the flavors and colors of vegetables, spices and herbs!

You may know Cheynese through his Instagram account or his Tik Tok account. Now you can always have your vegetable spaghetti recipes with you thanks to this beautiful book. You will find many recipes for both summer and winter, to eat light or more substantial, but above all to delight the eyes and taste buds with all the palettes of tastes and colors it offers. Asia.

The book is divided into several parts where you can draw according to your wishes: cold soups based on tagliatelle ideal for the summer, lots of pasta salads, but also sautéed tagliatelle and obviously hot soups and broths based on tagliatelle. And at the end of the book other somewhat unclassifiable recipes, Japanese-style udon carbonara, kimchi udon, somen and artichokes confit with miso, dandan noodles (Sichuan street food), biang biang, Korean rabokki and many others.

Before these recipes you will find explanations of the basic ingredients to have in your pantry, then several basic recipes to make your own oils, dashi, kimchi, sauces and even your homemade udon.

Each recipe is the subject of a double page. Title and difficulty, presentation of the dish (origin, explanation, anecdotes, then the very clear and simple step by step), and below the list of ingredients.

The photos of the recipes are very beautiful, colorful and mouth-watering.

Servings range from one to five so be careful when reading the recipe! It is true that a plate of ramen can easily be prepared for one person and a plate of stir-fried noodles for a group of friends… Which makes this book a real companion for healthy daily meals, but also for having fun with friends .

More information on the publisher’s website.

Drawing manga with a book is a gentle start

The Mango Editions offer a new book dedicated to manga drawing. This time it’s a book for beginners that will allow you to start slowly, without fear of not getting there, because everything is explained in a simple and clear way, with concrete foundations and very accessible step-by-step models. . THE book to get you started!

Since the introduction, the apprentice draftsman is trusted because he is encouraged not to be afraid to copy, to devote time to his passion, to persevere indulgently, to remain open and curious.

The presentation of Material it’s simple and effective: mechanical pencil, eraser, pencil, different types of markers whose uses will be explained in the pages. Nothing is missing, nothing is too much.

So let’s start with a mechanical pencil for the sketch. Learn to proportion the characters, to structure the volumes, to create movements. There are humans as well as animals or chimeras. Also learn to draw hands (the anxiety of many apprentices, but here it is simple, almost easy, the different positions of the hands are entered in accessible detailed step-by-step sketches) but also all parts of the face: proportion the features according to the face orientation (profile, face, 3/4), draw the hair, nose, eyes, mouth and eyebrows as well. What’s also fascinating is the drawing of facial expressions, in a few simple strokes everything changes, it’s fun and charming!

Once we are familiar with the sketches (we could have spent hours with a mechanical pencil and an eraser, enough to reassure us), we attack the finalize the line drawing : learn to modulate the lines to give relief, draw drapes, shade, apply textures… Each line has its marker and you learn to use the right tool in the right way.

Finally, the last part is dedicated to coloring. We learn the interest of alcohol markers for flat areas of uniform color, we also use them for shading (different shades for different effects), for blending (with the use of the blender, a colorless marker), and above all we know when what to to do in the course of coloring, it is very simple but it is essential! We can then complete this coloring by creating effects with crayons and colored pencils to blend a complexion. You can also use a white gel roller to create light effects. Coloring hair may seem difficult but it is clearly explained on a specific page. And finally we finish with watercolor markers for a little original touch.

In short, everything is in the book. You can start from scratch, you will manage to progress slowly but efficiently. And once you have all these basics, you can dive into other books for more complex stuff. But with this you will already have the pleasure of being able to draw and color beautiful manga characters! We look forward to your creations!

More information on the publisher’s website.

Cook, draw, start new projects! And above all, have fun and have a great year!