Thai Cucumber Salad

Steps

1. Rinse the cucumbers. Peel them in stripes, leaving every other band of skin for color and crunch. Halve them lengthwise, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon, then cut them into 1/4-inch (5 mm) half-moons.
2. Put the half-moons in a colander, sprinkle with the salt, toss, and let them drain over a bowl for 15 minutes. They'll give off a few spoonfuls of water and turn pliable but still crunchy.
3. Meanwhile, toast the peanuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often: they should be golden and smell strongly roasted. Let them cool on a plate, then crush them coarsely with a knife or in a mortar.
4. Peel the shallots and slice them into very thin rings. Slice the chile into thin rounds; remove the seeds if you want less heat. Finely grate the garlic.
5. Pick the cilantro and mint leaves. Mince the cilantro stems very fine, since they carry a lot of flavor, and keep the leaves whole for the end.
6. Make the dressing in a large bowl: squeeze one and a half limes to get about 3 tablespoons of juice, then add the rice vinegar, crumbled palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic, and cilantro stems. Whisk until the sugar dissolves, then taste: sour first, then sweet and salty in almost equal measure. Cut the remaining half lime into wedges.
7. Add the shallots and chile to the dressing and let them marinate for 5 minutes to soften their bite.
8. Shake the cucumbers, pat them dry in a clean kitchen towel, and add them to the bowl. Toss, add the cilantro and mint leaves, and toss again gently. Pile onto a round platter, scatter with the peanuts, and serve right away with the lime wedges.