The Next Step Produce heads of tat soi (pictured above) at the Dupont Circle farmers market Sunday were irresistible.  So I bought one, along with some pac choi and some mei qing choi.  Last night I put these Chinese greens to good use.  I often have a little debate with myself about how many of a dish's ingredients to include in the title of a blog post or, for that matter, within the body of a blog post when naming a particular dish.  I'll keep it simple and call last night's dinner "Seared Scallops with Stir Fried Chinese Greens."  This meal took about 30 minutes to prepare.

Here's what I used (enough to serve 3-4):

• 1 Envelope Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf (ingredients: oats, long grain brown rice, rye, hard red winter wheat, triticale, barley, buckwheat and sesame seeds)
• 3-4 sea scallops per person
• Lan Chi Chili Paste With Garlic (made in China) (ingredients: chili, salt, soy bean oil and garlic)
• 2 Tablespoons sesame chili oil (feel free to substitute with some other type of oil)
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 head tat soi
• 1 head pac choi (a.k.a. boc choi or bok choi)
• 1 head mei qing choi

And here's how I used it:

1. The Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf takes 25 minutes to cook, so get that started first . . . following the instructions on the box.  In short, you bring 2 cups of water to a boil over high heat, add the contents of the pilaf envelope, reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for 25 minutes.
2. Set the scallops on a paper towel to dry them, patting every surface dry.  They'll sear better if they're dry.
3. Cut the base off the heads of Chinese greens and wash them thoroughly . . . they'll likely have sand/dirt trapped between their layers . . . and dry them in a salad spinner if you have one.  I used three varieties of greens, but you could certainly use one or two varieties if that's all you have or like.  Just make sure to use three heads if you want to serve 3-4 people.
4. Wash and de-seed the pepper, then cut it into strips lengthwise.
5. Pre-heat a cast iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat.  This is for searing the scallops and you want the skillet very, very hot . . . hence the pre-heating.  It may smoke a bit, so you might want to turn on your exhaust fan (if you have one . . . I don't) or open a window with a fan (this is my approach).
6. Heat the sesame chili oil in a separate skillet or wok over medium heat (I don't have a wok, so I used a 13 inch nonstick skillet).  When the sesame chili oil is hot, but not quite smoking, add the sesame seeds and toast/fry them in the oil until they begin to brown . . . about 2 minutes.
7. About one minute into browning the sesame seeds, add the ginger to the same skillet/wok.
8. Add the red pepper pieces to the sesame seeds and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
9. Add the Chinese greens to the sesame seeds, ginger and peppers, toss to mix, cover and cook until the greens begin to wilt . . . about 5 minutes . . .depending on the level of heat.  It's important not to over-cook the greens if you want a bit of crunch in the stalks (as I do) and you want to retain the bright green color (as I do).
10. At this stage, your pilaf should be approaching done . . . depending on your speed with the prep work, etc.  Perhaps your pilaf is already done . . . which is fine . . . it'll stay hot if left covered with the heat turned off.  Given that the greens take about 5 minutes to cook, you should be about 5 minutes away from plating at this point.
11. Time to sear the scallops.  Place each scallop, flat side down, into the pre-heated super hot skillet.  Sear for one minute without touching . . . then, with a metal spatula, flip each scallop . . . so the other flat side can sear for a minute.  (Searing scallops, or anything else, takes a little practice.  Actual searing time will vary a bit depending on the type of pan you're using, your own idea of medium-hot heat, etc.  But, as in all things, practice makes perfect.  So get practicing!)
12. Plate the scallops on the pilaf alongside the greens.
13. I added some Lan Chi Chili Paste With Garlic to the top of each scallop.  This particular chili paste is hot as hell, so taste it before you use as much as I did in this photo . . . as pictured, these scallops are very spicy.  If you're not into spicy food, you should use a lot less . . . or skip the Lan Chi and use a more mild chili paste . . . or no chili paste at all.  One of the things I like most about Lan Chi is that it's ingredient list is short . . . it contains no additives or ingredients I can't pronounce.

My sister's complained to me a couple times that I typically don't describe how my food tasted when I blog about it.  Others have similarly asked in comments from time to time, "how'd it taste?"  In my own defense, I do typically mention it when something doesn't turn out as well as I hoped . . . but I generally don't rave about my cooking.  It's just not my style.  As a reader of this blog, you can assume that if I don't mention any shortcomings of my food, but I also don't rave about the food, then I thought it was delicious.  But I figured I'd give my sister's approach a try.  So here it is.  This was a delicious, simple meal.  The step-by-step instructions may appear a little lengthy, but that's only because I err on the side of being over-inclusive . . . spelling out things that may or may not need to be spelled out (e.g., describing in detail how to sear a scallop).

This blog is still in it's infancy . . . and it's a work in progress . . . so let me know what you think about my blogging style . . . the way I present recipes . . . the way I do or don't describe the food . . . all that stuff.  I've received some incredibly helpful suggestions from some of you since launching the blog in October and my blog is better for it.  So please keep the suggestions coming.  Cheers!