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Photos by MJ Klein - Attention: FOOD PHOTOS!

UPDATE: I’ve added some video to the end of the article.

It was another great weekend in Taiwan.  The weather let up on us a bit and it got something approaching cooler.  So, when Becky invited us up to their cabin in Miaoli, well we knew it was a great time in the making!

The ride up was spectacular as we took the mountain road that comes up behind the cabin.  We brought our friend Ed with us and he’s very well traveled.  His comment is that he’d never been on a road like that one before and the mountain view was one of the top things he’s ever seen.  We agree!  Taiwan is incredible but you have to get out of Taipei to find out.

My Nikon D-80 is in the shop for a CCD remapping job, so these photos were taken with my Panasonic video camera.  They’re a little below our normal standards here but it also means that we have video to present you with (as soon as I put them together that is!).

First up is Hui-chen’s famous grill marinade, which has really evolved over time into something far beyond the original recipie.

Here is Hui-chen attending the grill, which she really enjoys.  Notice the bag of marinaded meat.  She cut everything up and put the marinade together and it rode in the cooler all the way to the cabin.  By the time it went on the fire it had been doing it’s thing for several hours.

The clouds were coming over the mountain from the East, and it did threaten to rain several times.  We got a mild sprinkling but that was about it.  The temperature really dropped in the evening and it was quite pleasant.

Although the meat looks dark, it’s not burned by any means.  The darkness comes from the soy sauce in the marinade.

This is what my plate looked like.  A few minutes later it looked empty.

Sorry about the white balance being off in this shot but I included it because it’s the only overview still shot that I took.  Ed (on the far left) and I polished off a bottle of Sang Som Royal Thai Rum from a pitcher of giant ice cubes (foreground, right of center).  Ahhhh….  what a nice way to relax!

It wouldn’t be a day at Miaoli with some Dutch oven cooking!  Becky’s father got a Dutch oven after seeing me cook in mine the first time we were there.

This is a closeup of the food just before going on the fire.

Becky’s father planted some rosemary and I picked some and used it in the dish.  I think the rosemary added a nice flavor but I had also added basil to the pot, not knowing about the rosemary until later.  Oh well - the 2 strong flavors had it out and neither one won, but the results were good.

We also went on a little shrimp hunt and caught some of the river shrimp.  Although I didn’t get any photos of that activity, it was quite the quintessential Taiwanese experience, cooking the shrimp in white rice wine, in Taiwan beer cans with the tops cut off!

Thanks to Becky and her family for having us there again!  We’ll be back soon!

Bamboo Shoots in Miaoli from MJ Klein on Vimeo.

Shrimp And Fireworks! from MJ Klein on Vimeo.