Thai Cucumber and Peanut Salad

- Serves 4

My Thai lime dressing is perfectly sweet, sour and spicy, and goes beautifully with not just papaya and mango salads but any seasonal vegetables of your choice. It’s especially great on cool, crunchy cucumbers on a hot summer’s day. Dried shrimps may be optional in this recipe, but do add that extra umami the recipe needs. They may be skipped in case of allergies or if you wish make a vegetarian version of the dish. The same applies to fish sauce, which can be replaced with salt when making the vegetarian version of the dish.

Ingredients for Thai Cucumber and Peanut Salad

3 large Japanese cucumbers, deseeded and diced into large diagonal pieces
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts for garnish

Dressing:
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, optional (available in the dried foods isle in supermarkets, omit dried shrimp for vegetarian version)
1 red bird’s eye chili, chopped
2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander, leaves and stems
2 tablespoons fish sauce (use 1/2 teaspoon sea-salt for vegetarian version)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or lemon juice

Recipe

Place 1/4 cup peanuts, garlic, dried shrimp, red chili, sugar, coriander in a mortar, and bash using a pestle for a few minutes to make a coarse paste.
Add fish sauce, and lime juice - stir well.
Pour dressing over chilled chopped cucumber - stir well. Serve immediately garnished with roasted peanuts.