This cucumber salad is simple and can be made at the last minute. It can be eaten as is or used as a base for a more complex salad. Add some chile oil and it becomes a spicy salad. Add parboiled carrots, wood ear mushrooms, or peanuts and you have a mixed salad.

1 large hothouse or 3 small Persian cucumbers (8 ounces total)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

Optional -- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Quarter the cucumbers lengthwise and slice off the center portions to remove the seeds. (For large hothouse cucumbers you may want to further cut the quarters lengthwise into eighths.) Then cut the lengths into 2-inch-long pieces.
Put the cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkle with the salt and garlic, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
When you are ready to serve the salad, drain the juice that the salt has extracted from the cucumber pieces, retaining as much of the garlic as possible, and arrange the cucumbers on a plate. Pour the sesame oil and red pepper flakes (if using) over the cucumbers and serve cold.