• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Sudachi Recipes
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Contact
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • Contact
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Mains

    Ootoya's Black Vinegar Sweet and Sour Chicken (鶏と野菜の黒酢あん)

    Published: Feb 22, 2021 · Modified: Sep 9, 2021 by Yuto Omura

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    Share this recipe!
    Share on Facebook
    Facebook
    Pin on Pinterest
    Pinterest
    Share on Reddit
    Reddit
    Tweet about this on Twitter
    Twitter
    Share on Yummly
    Yummly

    This "Tori to Yasai No Kurozu An" recipe is based on a vibrant dish that you can find at a well known chain restaurant in Japan called "Ootoya". It's their most popular dish, and for good reason! Delicious fried chicken with crunchy vegetables in a sweet and sour black vinegar sauce, it's SO good!

    Kurozuan Black Vinegar Sweet and Sour Chicken

    Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Sudachi Recipes earn a small percentage from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. See disclaimer for more info.

    Tori no Kurozuann

    What is "tori to yasai no kurozu ann"?

    It's a long name, but "Tori to Yasai no Kurozuankake" (鶏と野菜の黒酢あん) can be translated literally as "Sweet and Sour Chicken and Vegetables".

    Kurozu ann

    Kurozuankake is a Japanese style of sweet and sour sauce made with black vinegar called "kurozu".

    It's a kind of aged rice vinegar that is dark in colour and quite subtle in flavour. It's not too sour and some compare it to balsamic vinegar, but a little less sweet. If you need a substitute, you can mix 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar with 1 tsp of rice vinegar.

    You can buy Japanese Kurozu black vinegar on Amazon here.

    "Ankake" means thick, sweet sauce. This refers to the thick, syrup like texture of the sauce that helps it stick to the meat and vegetables.

    This sauce can be bought pre-made in Japanese supermarkets, but I'm going to show you how to make it from scratch! It's a nicely balanced sweet and sour sauce that is perfect for stir fries!

    Kurozuan Sweet and Sour Chicken top down

    Vegetables

    Kurozuankake contains a variety of different vegetables.

    • Carrot
    • White onion
    • Aubergine (eggplant)
    • Green pepper (bell pepper/piman)
    • Renkon (lotus root)
    • Potato
    Kurozuan Sweet and Sour Chicken close up

    Other variations

    Although we will use chicken in our recipe, Kurozu Ankake also works well with…

    • Pork
    • White fish
    • Prawns
    • Beef
    • Vegetables only

    See How to make Ootoya Style Sweet and Sour Chicken "Tori no Kurozu An"

    Shallow Frying

    The main cooking method used for this dish is shallow frying. The vegetables are fried first and then the chicken is coated in starch and fried too. Frying at a high temperature is what gives the vegetables a nice crunch and the chicken a crispy outside.

    Frying is the technique that Ootoya uses, so for this recreation recipe I will be following the same technique. But there are some other options for if you don't want to shallow fry.

    • Stir frying the vegetables
    • Blanching or boiling the vegetables for a short time
    • Baking the chicken
    • Use store-bought battered chicken

    So there are other ways to prepare the meat and vegetables, but the texture won't be so close to Ootoya's version.

    The final step is to add everything to a frying pan with the sauce and let it thicken up!

    Kurozuan Sweet and Sour Chicken as a teishoku style set

    Ootoya

    Ootoya is a popular chain restaurant in Japan that serves "teishoku" style meals.

    If you visit Japan, I definitely recommend going there! They have a great range of typical Japanese dishes on the menu, their ingredients are fresh and everything is made on site (no frozen stuff). Some stores even have a touch screen menu with language options in English, it's very convenient! I go there whenever I feel like something filling and comforting.

    They state on their website that kurozuan is the most popular item on their menu and basically their signature dish. The official recipe is even posted online! (Japanese)

    My version is simplified and uses more accessible ingredients, but when it comes to taste, I honestly don't think you'll be able to tell the difference!

    Kurozuan Sweet and Sour Chicken with rice and miso soup

    Teishoku

    You might be wondering what a "teishoku" meal is. Teishoku is a kind of Japanese set meal. It's a set price and everything comes together on one tray.

    Teishoku usually consists of:

    • A main side dish (meat, fish, etc)
    • Rice
    • Miso soup
    • Second side (extra vegetables, salad, etc)
    • Pickles

    Kurozuan would be the main side dish in a teishoku set.

    kurozuan chicken picked up with chopsticks

    Teishoku is comforting, filling and visually appealing, so why not try making it at home?

    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Kurozuan Sweet and Sour Chicken side view

    Ootoya's Black Vinegar Sweet and Sour Chicken (鳥と野菜の黒酢あんかけ)


    ★★★★★

    5 from 2 reviews

    • Author: Yuto Omura
    • Total Time: 30 minutes
    • Yield: 2 portions 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    Learn how to make Ootoya's number one most popular dish, "Tori to Yasai no Kurozuan"(鶏と野菜の黒酢あん). Delicious fried chicken with crunchy vegetables in a sweet and sour black vinegar sauce. (Serves 2) Perfect with rice, miso soup and pickles.


    Ingredients

    Scale

    Marinade

    • 250g (½lb) Chicken thigh cut into small bitesize pieces
    • 2 tsp Soy sauce
    • 1 tsp Sake (or white wine)
    • ½ tsp Ginger paste
    • ½ tsp Garlic paste

    Sauce

    • 3½ tbsp Granulated sugar
    • 2 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
    • 1½ tbsp Soy sauce
    • 2 tsp Kurozu Black vinegar
    • 2 tsp Mirin
    • 1 tbsp Sake (or white wine)
    • 1 tbsp Water
    • 1 tsp Corn starch

    Vegetables

    • Oil for shallow frying
    • ½ Carrot
    • 1 small (or ½ large) Aubergine (eggplant)
    • 3~4cm (1½ inches) Renkon Lotus Root (optional)
    • ½ White Onion
    • 1 Green (bell) pepper (or 2 piman peppers)
    • 2-3 tbsp Corn starch (for coating the chicken)

    Instructions

    Marinate

    1. Put the chicken thigh into a container with, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sake, ½ tsp ginger paste and ½ tsp garlic paste.
      marinate the chicken pieces
    2. Mix well to make sure all of the chicken is coated in the marinade and leave for 10 minutes.

    Kurozuan Sauce

    1. Take a jug or bowl and add 3½ tbsp granulated sugar, 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1½ tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp black vinegar, 2 tsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp cold water and 1 tsp corn starch.
    2. Mix well until there are no more lumps of corn starch and the sugar has dissolved.
      smooth mixed kurozuan sauce
    3. Set aside for later.

    Prepping

    1. Take a large frying pan and pour in vegetable oil until it's about 2cm high (approx 1 inch). Heat the oil to 180°C (approx 355°F).
      2cm oil
    2. Chop the aubergine (eggplant) into chunky bitesize pieces with the skin on, and soak in water for 5 minutes.
      soaking the aubergine (eggplant) for 5 minutes
    3. Peel the carrot and cut it into 3~4cm pieces. (approx 1½ inches)
      carrot pieces
    4. If you're using lotus root peel it and cut into 8mm thick slices. (approx ¼ inch) Wash and dry after cutting.
    5. Cut the green pepper and white onion into 2cm (approx 1 inch) pieces.
      onion and green peppers cut into 1 inch pieces

    Frying

    1. When the oil is heated, add the carrot and fry for 3 minutes on each side.
      fry the carrot 3 mins on each side
    2. Remove the carrot and place on a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drip off (you can also place them on a paper towel to help absorb the oil).
      carrots placed on wire rack
    3. Remove the aubergine from the water and dry each piece thoroughly with a paper towel. Place each piece into the oil with the green pepper (and lotus root if using) and fry for 1 minute.
      green bell pepper and aubergine (eggplant) shallow frying
    4. Take the aubergine and green pepper (and lotus root) out of the oil and place on the wire rack.
      Aubergine (eggplant) on mesh spoon
    5. Add the onion to the oil and fry for 1 min. Once finished, add the onion to the wire rack.
      shallow frying onions
    6. Lower the heat to 170°C (340°F).
    7. Sprinkle 2-3 tbsp of corn starch onto a plate.
      coating chicken with corn starch
    8. Take the marinated chicken and coat each piece with corn starch before adding it to the oil.
      chicken shallow frying in a pan
    9. Fry the chicken for 3 minutes on each side.
      turning the fried chicken thigh
    10. Increase the heat to high (about 190°C / 375°F) for 1 minute on each side and then remove the chicken from the oil and place on a wire rack to allow the oil to drip off.
      fried chicken thigh in a pan
    11. Finally, heat a large frying pan or wok on medium and add a small drizzle of oil.
      add oil to new pan
    12. Add the vegetables and chicken to the pan.
      add vegetables and chicken to the new pan
    13. Take the jug of sauce and give it a mix before pouring it into the pan over the chicken and vegetables.
      pouring the kurozuan sauce into the pan
    14. Stir fry until the sauce is thickened and coats the chicken and vegetables (it will only take a few minutes).
      fried chicken and vegetables coated in a thickened kurozuan sauce
    15. Serve up and enjoy!
      kurozuan chicken picked up with chopsticks

    Notes

    This dish can be made with pork or fish too.

    If you don't want to deep fry, you can stir fry the vegetables instead. (Cooking time might be longer).

    If you can't get black vinegar, mix 1 tsp of rice vinegar with 1 tsp balsamic vinegar.

    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 20 minutes
    • Category: Meat
    • Method: Shallow Fry
    • Cuisine: Japanese

    Keywords: Ootoya sweet and sour chicken, Japanese sweet and sour chicken recipe, How to make Ootoya black vinegar sauce, Kurozuankake recipe, Ootoya Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe, Kurozuan recipe, black vinegar sauce recipe, kurozu an recipe, tori to yasai no kurozuan recipe, Ootoya recipe, sweet and sour chicken recipe, sweet and sour sauce, sweet black vinegar sauce, black vinegar chicken, teishoku recipes,chicken kurozuan,

    Did you try this recipe?

    Comment below or show us on Instagram!

    @sudachi.recipes     #sudachirecipes

    Share this recipe!
    Share on Facebook
    Facebook
    Pin on Pinterest
    Pinterest
    Share on Reddit
    Reddit
    Tweet about this on Twitter
    Twitter
    Share on Yummly
    Yummly
    « Easy 15 min Tantanmen Ramen (担々麵)
    Saizeriya's Karami Chicken Recreation Recipe (サイゼリヤ風辛味チキン) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gen

      October 19, 2021 at 8:54 am

      I've been missing this dish from Ootoya now that I'm back in the USA. Thank you for creating this recipe for it as my guidance. It was pretty good!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Yuto Omura

        October 19, 2021 at 7:09 pm

        I get that, Ootoya has some great dishes! Happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe, thank you for the rating! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Mentari

      April 28, 2022 at 4:53 am

      Thannk you for the recipe! I have a bottle of chinkiang vinegar and I need to finish it before I move to another city.. I will make your recipe tomorrow, hope I can succeed like you! 🙂 Also, I don't have apple cider vinegar, what can I substitute it with? Thank you again!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Yuto Omura

        April 28, 2022 at 6:39 pm

        You're most welcome!
        If you don't have apple cider vinegar you can substitute with 1 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar and 1/2 tbsp of apple juice instead. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe! 🙂

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Konnichiwa!

    Thanks for visiting Sudachi Recipes. My name is Yuto and I'm a Japanese guy with a passion for food. Here I share tasty and accessible recipes so that you can bring a taste of Japan to your own kitchen.

    More about me →

    Follow Us


    Search by Category

    • Noodles
    • Rice
    • Meat
    • Fish and Seafood
    • Vegetable
    • Sweets
    see all categories

    New Recipes

    • Authentic Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
    • Tamago kake gohan 101: everything you need to know about TKG
    • Duck Soba Noodle Soup (Kamo Nanban Soba)
    • Harusame salad (Chuka style glass noodle salad)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Sudachi Recipes

    • About Us
    • Recipes
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Coming soon

    Social Media

    • Contact Us
    • Youtube Channel
    • Instagram
    • Tiktok
    • Facebook

    Copyright © 2021 Sudachi Recipes