What To Put In Homemade Chinese Food?

When preparing Chinese food I prefer to keep it simple.  Decide on what type of meat you want to serve and then what vegetables you like and pick 5 or more.  Will you use a long grain wild, white or jasmine rice. Will it be stir fry, stew, or roasted.  What influence will you choose, Cantonese, Schezwan, or Mandarin.     I will give an Example.    Eg-  I want Schezwan(spicy hot), I will choose broccoli, yellow squash, carrot, onion, tri color bell peppers, and baby corn.  I will buy a sirloin tip roast and chill it till slightly frozen and then cut into tips.  I will put on the rice and I will use jasmine and flavor it will orange rind and garlic.   I will place the tips into a bowl and add 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce,  1 tsp. Chinese five spice, 1 tbsp minced ginger, 2tbsp soy sauce, and 1/8 rice wine vinegar mixed with one tsp honey.  I will marinate the tips in this for 2 hours and then sear them in wok with 1 tsp. Pnut oil.  Remove the tips and place into slow cooker with one jar of Hoisin sauce and three cups water and 1cup orange juice and allow to simmer for on low for 1 1/2 hours. In wok throw all the vegetables cut up coarsely along with 2tsp pnut oil and a little white pepper.  Toss till cooked slightly tender and add your stew to this stir twice and serve over rice.
       When preparing most dishes Chinese five spice is essential as is garlic, onion, white pepper, corn starch,soy sauce and terriyaki.  Of course, only a few dishes will incorporate all these ingredients into one dish, but they are the ones you should keep on hand. Most cooks want to use sesame to cook with, but it spoils easily, is expensive and I have found little difference in the overall taste of the dish when using it. I prefer pnut oil myself, but if pnut allergy is a problem you could use vegetable oil.