Wide Noodles With Alternatives

Our answer

Nigella's Wide Noodles With Lamb Shank In Aromatic Broth (from COOK, EAT, REPEAT) slowly stews a lamb shank until it is tender enough to shred. The meat is then reheated and served with noodles, shredded cabbage and the spicy broth.

We suspect that you could use a pork knuckle as an alternative, though as the skin on a pork knuckle is fairly thick you will need a large-ish pork knuckle to make sure that there is enough meat to serve two people. The cooking time should be similar, or just continue to cook the pork knuckle until the meat is falling off the bone. You should remove and discard the bone, fat and skin from the cooked and cooled pork knuckle. Nigella has also made the dish successfully with beef short ribs and you would need approximately 400g/14 ounces of short ribs for two people. Chicken will cook much more quickly and as it may not develop quite the same depth of flavour you should use chicken stock instead of water. Use 3 thighs that are on the bone but with the skin removed. You could also use 1-2 duck legs with the same weight. The cooking time is likely to be 40-50 minutes for chicken or duck, or until the meat is falling off the bone.