Prepare the pork. Slice the raw 1.5 lb pork shoulder thin, a little less than ¼", or about 5mm thick. It helps to slightly freeze it beforehand, so you can maintain an even and thin cut, but it's not critical.

Mix all marinade ingredients. Mince 3 tbsp shallot and 3 tbsp garlic then add to a mixing bowl with ¼ cup granulated sugar, 3 tbsp neutral cooking oil, 1.5 tbsp fish sauce, ½ tbsp caramel color, ½ tbsp ground black pepper, and mix until sugar dissolves.

Add pork to marinade bowl and mix thoroughly. Marinate for 4 hours minimum, or overnight for better results.

OPTON A (Preferred): Grill over charcoal. Start some charcoals, pour coals out on the grill leaving 25% of the grill without coals as a resting area, close the lid for ~5 min to heat the grates, scrub the grates clean. Grill pork in batches to not crowd the grill, flipping pieces every 1-2 minutes as needed, or moving to avoid flare-ups. As flare-ups subside after the first few minutes of each batch you can close the lid to grill and preserve some fuel. Grill until pork registers a minimum of 145°F. On a small grill it took me about 4 batches to cook it all.

OPTON B: Bake in an oven at 375 F for 10-15 minutes or until about 80% cooked. Finish cooking by broiling in the oven until a nice golden brown color develops, flipping the pieces midway. Don't take your eyes off the broiler! Cook until pork registers a minimum of 145°F.

Assemble bowl with noodles and veggies. I like about in each bowl about 1 cup noodles, 1 cup lettuce, a few leaves of mint, 1 tbsp perilla, 1 tbsp Vietnamese balm, ¾ of a Persian cucumber.

Top with garnishes. In each bowl I like about 1 tbsp pickles, ½ tbsp scallion & oil, ½ tbsp crushed peanuts, and 1 egg roll. I like to drizzle the dipping sauce as I eat so I can adjust the amount or tweak the saltiness as I go.