Pork Char Siu Men

I don't know about you, but sometimes I find ethnic cooking daunting.  To be precise, I am referring to recipes for traditional Asian or Indian foods.  You know, the ones where the ingredient list is a mile long and usually features exotic spices, special sauces and possibly strange creatures?  I really love these foods though, so when I see one of these recipes, my tummy starts rumbling, I can feel myself salivating... and then I am usually stopped dead in my tracks when I look at the ingredients and the preparation.  This seems to be what goes through my head:  "Lets see, do I have any of these ingredients in my pantry?  Hmm, negative.  Oh wow, it looks like it might take a whole week and/or all the dishes in my kitchen to prepare this!  Ah, but I want it so bad!!!  I better call one of my friends and see if she wants to meet me at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant."