I first ate pearl couscous when I was in Israel, which seems appropriate because it's also called Israeli couscous. I bought a bag of it on that visit, but it's long gone, so I was glad to find some in Hong Kong. Unlike the more usual small-grained couscous, which doesn't need to be cooked (you just add boiling water, cover the bowl with cling-film, then let it steam in the residual heat), pearl couscous should be boiled until tender in salted water (or even better, chicken or vegetable broth). It absorbs more flavour when it's hot, so immediately after draining it, mix in salt and other seasonings, such as fresh lemon juice, finely grated lemon zest and extra-virgin olive oil. The Al'fez pearl giant couscous is HK$30 for 200 grams at City'super (Times Square, Causeway Bay, tel: 2506 2888).
Sometimes, what seems like a bargain isn’t really. I purchased John West anchovy fillets in olive oil because they were inexpensive – HK$29.90 for 50 grams, or 30 grams of drained weight. The label read well: the tin contained only anchovy fillets, olive oil and salt. But when I opened it, the anchovies smelled like cat food and fell apart when I tried to remove them. Fortunately, I had a jar of L’Isola d’Oro filetti di alici in my pantry. While that brand seems expensive – HK$80.50 for 156 grams (85.8 grams of drained weight) – it’s more economical than John West. L’Isola anchovies are large, fat and delicious. Both brands are available at Great (Pacific Place, Admiralty, tel: 2918 9986).
