If you want to stock a kitchen for Chinese cooking, a good starter for your basics would be:
If you were to ask a Chinese person and a Japanese person, some things may come up as very common, but the rest are pretty much different and the list may be endless (however an exception does apply to Chinese-style dishes served in Japan as it's usually modified).
Chinese cookery is no one thing. Just as European cookery distinguishes between Italian, French, German, Scandinavian, Russian, Greek etc so Chinese cookery differs markedly between Cantonese cookery , Szechwan, Mongol etc. So no overall characteristics.
Shulian Lin has written: 'Jia chang yan ke cai =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Dinners and dining 'Jian yi mian shi =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery (Pasta), Cookery, Chinese, Noodles 'Jian yi Taiwan feng wei xiao chi =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Cookery, Chinese 'Taiwan xiao chi =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Cookery, Chinese 'Chuan tong mei shi =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese 'Er cai yi tang' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese 'Jian yi su shi jia chang cai =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Vegetarian cookery
Mucun Li has written: 'Yu =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery (Fish), Cookery, Chinese 'Tofu! tofu! tofu!' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery (Tofu), Cookery, Chinese
Jinling Feng has written: 'Qing shuang dan su liang cai =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery (Cold dishes), Cookery, Chinese, Salads 'Jia ting bao jian shi pu =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese 'Shu guo jian mei shi pu =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery (Fruit), Cookery (Vegetables), Cookery, Chinese 'Ji dong hai chan shi pu =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery (Seafood), Cookery, Chinese
Lizhu Feng has written: 'Qing xin run fei liang tang =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Chinese Medicine, Cookery, Chinese, Diet therapy, Medicine, Chinese, Soups 'Yang sheng liang tang' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Soups, Therapeutic use 'Chang nian liang tang =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Soups, Therapeutic use 'Kou fu tong xiang' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Diet therapy 'Xiao zhi bao jian liang tang =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Soups, Therapeutic use 'He shi bao jian liang tang =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Herbs, Soups, Therapeutic use
Renshi Ouyang has written: 'Fan mian mei shi' -- subject(s): Cookery (Pasta), Cookery (Rice) 'Yu xian mei shi' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery (Fish), Cookery, Chinese 'Di zhi jian kang cai pu' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Low-fat diet, Recipes 'More steps in Chinese cooking' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese
Zhi Cheng Zhuang has written: 'Delightful snacks' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Snack foods 'Oven splendid dishes' -- subject(s): Cookery, Chinese language 'Delicious Shanghai dishes' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese
Ella-Mei Wong has written: 'Chinese cookery' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery 'Modern Chinese cooking' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery
Wanying Huang has written: 'Da jiang nan bei cai = Regional cuisines of China' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese 'Qin qin hai zi shi pu =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese 'Bu yi ban de zhou fen mian fan =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Congee, Cookery (Rice), Cookery, Chinese, Noodles
Jinxiong Luo has written: 'Ao gao tang zuo hao cai =' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese '100 yuan tao can' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese
Wenji Li has written: 'Zhen wei zhi jiang' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Condiments, Cookery, Chinese, Sauces 'Zhen wei xiao chao' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese
Jie Yi Cai has written: 'Fried cooking family style' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese, Frying 'Flameless cooking made easy' -- subject(s): Chinese Cookery, Cookery, Chinese