• Zest and juice the lime.
• Finely chop, press, or grate enough garlic to measure ½ teaspoon [1 tsp].
• Strip the mint leaves from the stems; coarsely chop the leaves. Set aside half for the salad.
• If using the jalapeño, remove the stem; thinly slice the jalapeño crosswise. Wash your hands after handling.

In a small bowl, stir together the lime zest and juice, garlic, half each of the mint and fish sauce, and as much jalapeño as you like. Add more fish sauce to taste. Let stand while you prepare the rest of the meal.

For the fish (salmon or halibut):

• Pat the fish dry with a paper towel; season generously with salt and pepper.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add the fish (skin side down for the salmon) and cook until lightly browned (and the salmon skin is crisp), 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook until the flesh is opaque and flaky, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
While the fish cooks, start preparing the salad.

For the scallops:

• Pat the scallops dry with a paper towel; season lightly with salt.

In a large frying pan over high heat, warm 1 to 2 teaspoons oil until hot but not smoking. Add the scallops and cook without turning until golden brown on one side and starting to turn opaque, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn and continue cooking for about 30 seconds for translucent or 1 to 2 minutes for opaque. Transfer to a plate.
While the scallops cook, start preparing the salad.

• Lay the cucumber flat; using a peeler, shave the cucumber lengthwise into thin ribbons.
• Lay the carrots flat; using a peeler, shave the carrots lengthwise into thin ribbons.
• Trim the root ends and any coarse stems from the watercress.

In a large bowl, toss together the cucumber, carrots, watercress, red wine vinegar, remaining mint, and 1 tablespoon [2 TBL] oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the carrot and cucumber ribbon salad to individual plates and top with the seafood. Drizzle with the mint-lime sauce and serve.