[1] Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for cha siu bao or pineapple buns.

However, in modern times, the meat is typically a shoulder cut of domestic pork, seasoned with a mixture of honey, five-spice powder, red fermented bean curd, dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, red food colouring (not a traditional ingredient but very common in today's preparations and is optional), and sherry or rice wine (optional).

These seasonings turn the exterior layer of the meat dark red, similar to the "smoke ring" of American barbecues.

[4][5] Char siu is typically consumed with a starch, whether inside a bun (cha siu bao, 叉燒包),[6] with noodles (chasiu min, 叉燒麵), or with rice (chasiu faan, 叉燒飯) in fast food establishments, or served alone as a centerpiece or main dish in traditional family dining establishments.

The dish consists of slices of char siu, cucumbers, white rice and is drenched in sweet gravy or drizzled with dark soy sauce.

[8] The Japanese adaptation is typically seasoned with soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar or other sweetener, without the red food colouring, nor five-spice powder.

It is sticky and sweet from the sugar and honey, smoky from the aromatic Chinese spices, and subtly spicy from the Korean gochujang.

Ingredients in marinades for cha siu are similar to those found in China (honey, five-spice, wine, soy, hoisin, etc.