Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad

(This is in no way an authentic Thai recipe.  I have been really enjoying laarb salads in my local Thai place recently and set about replicating the flavor profile in a simple cucumber salad at home.)

1/4th head red cabbage
2 cucumbers
1 big or 2 small shallots
large handful fresh mint leaves
1 or 2 serrano or jalapeno pepper (or several tablespoons red pepper flakes in a pinch)
Zest of 1 and juice of 2-3 limes
2 tbl kosher salt, pepper to taste
optional to serve: chopped iceberg lettuce, chopped roasted peanuts.

Shred the cabbage and chop the cucumber into very fine disks/half disks.  Dice shallot and pepper and roll up the mint leaves and cut them together to make gorgeous mint confetti. If using red pepper flakes, beat them up  a bit into smaller shards.  Throw all these veggies into a big ziplock type bag.  Add salt, pepper, lime zest, lime juice, shake it up and seal the bag. 

Let sit at least 30 mins up to several days.  If served immediately it will resemble more of a salad, in a few days it becomes a spicy sour pickled condiment.  It is great on its own but you can bulk it out/tone it down by serving it over chopped iceberg lettuce. Add chopped peanuts if you are not a peanut-hater like my father and you can serve it on its own as a great light lunch.