Quick Peanut Soba Noodles

The twins are a week old. Mark sends photos constantly — the steady stream of new-parent documentation, every facial expression captured, every sleeping position memorialized, the particular obsessiveness of first-time parents who cannot believe they made these people and need photographic evidence that the people exist. Marco sleeps with his fists curled. Sofia sleeps with her mouth open. Both sleep as if sleep were a competitive sport and they are training for the Olympics.

The lumpia arrived. Carmen called to report: "Your mother's lumpia got here before the breast milk." I said, "That's the Santos way." The lumpia were fried. Three hundred of the four hundred were consumed in the first week — by Mark, by Carmen, by Carmen's mother (who came from San Diego proper to help), by the neighbors, by anyone who entered the apartment and was immediately fed because Lourdes's lumpia has a gravity that pulls people toward it regardless of their intentions.

I'm processing the joy. The processing is strange — pure joy, uncomplicated by the undercurrents that sometimes accompany other people's baby news (the wanting, the wondering, the thirty-two-year-old arithmetic). Today the joy is clean. Today the joy is my brother holding two babies and crying and the crying is the most beautiful thing he's ever done, more beautiful than his Navy service, more beautiful than his wedding, more beautiful than anything that requires composure. The uncomposed Mark. The crying Mark. The father Mark. I love this version of my brother. I love him harder than I've loved him since we were kids and he needed me to tie his shoes.

I made pancit palabok — the celebration noodle, the shrimp sauce and chicharrón and hard-boiled eggs. The elaborate pancit. The party pancit. Because the twins deserve the party version. Even from three thousand miles away. Even eaten alone. The party is in the noodle. The celebration is in the sauce.

Pancit is the celebration noodle—that’s what my lola always said—and when Marco and Sofia arrived and Mark sent that photo of himself crying and holding both of them at once, I needed noodles the way you need air. I didn’t have all the ingredients for the full palabok spread, but I had soba and I had peanut sauce and I had the understanding that the point is never really the specific noodle—it’s the act of marking the moment with something that takes effort and tastes like love. These Quick Peanut Soba Noodles became my version of the party, eaten at my kitchen table with photos of the twins open on my phone, toasting two new people who don’t know yet that their Tita Grace already loves them embarrassingly much.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

8 oz soba noodles
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, minced
2–3 tablespoons warm water (to thin sauce)
1 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Chili flakes or sriracha, to taste (optional)

Instructions

Cook the noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook soba noodles according to package directions, usually 4–5 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water to stop cooking, and set aside.
Make the peanut sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, ginger, and garlic until smooth. Add warm water one tablespoon at a time until the sauce reaches a pourable, glossy consistency.
Prep the vegetables. While the noodles cook, shred the cabbage and carrots if not pre-shredded, and slice the green onions and cilantro.
Toss everything together. In a large bowl, combine the drained soba noodles, cabbage, and carrots. Pour the peanut sauce over the top and toss well to coat every noodle evenly.
Finish and serve. Divide into bowls and top with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, sesame seeds, and chili flakes or a drizzle of sriracha if desired. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Nutrition (per serving)

Quick Peanut Soba Noodles — The Celebration Noodle, Even From Three Thousand Miles Away