Kōhaku Kamaboko (紅白かまぼこ, red-and-white fish cake)

Kōhaku kamaboko looks ceremonial because it is. Red and white slices sit at the front of osechi, the New Year foods packed into the lacquered jubako, and the curve of each slice suggests the first sun rising over the year. It is not a difficult dish. It is a sourcing dish with a knife attached.

The one detail that decides it is the kamaboko itself. Buy a proper board-mounted fish cake made from white fish surimi, springy but not rubbery, with a clean sea sweetness and no harsh perfume of additives. There is no sauce here to rescue a dull one. Nothing hidden. The color should be gentle, pink over white, not a shout from the dye bottle.

Then cut with composure. Remove the board by sliding the knife flat between wood and fish cake, because tearing the bottom spoils the neat face of every slice. Slice a little thicker than you think, about 8 mm, so each piece stands in the box with its curved back proud. Arrange red and white in odd-numbered rows and leave it room. Ma, the empty space, is not decoration. It lets the New Year breathe.