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Japanese black vinegar chicken and vegetables (Ootoya style tori to yasai no kurozu an) on a blue plate

Ootoya's Black Vinegar Sweet and Sour Chicken (Tori Kurozu An)

4.67 from 3 votes
By Yuto Omura
https://sudachirecipes.com
"Tori to Yasai No Kurozu An" is a vibrant dish made with crispy fried chicken and crunchy flash-fried vegetables coated in a glossy black vinegar sauce. It's one of the most popular dishes by the popular chain restaurant "Ootoya" and now you can make it at home with my easy recipe!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Japanese
Servings 2 portions
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Japanese
Servings: 2 portions

Equipment

Ingredients 
 

For the chicken

  • 250 g boneless chicken thigh(s) boneless, skin-on
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sake or white wine
  • ½ tsp grated ginger root or ginger paste
  • ½ tsp grated garlic or garlic paste
  • 2 tbsp potato starch

Sauce

  • 3 ½ tbsp light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp apple vinegar
  • 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp Japanese black vinegar (kurozu) (kurozu)
  • 2 tsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp sake or white wine
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp cornstarch

Vegetables

  • cooking oil for shallow frying
  • 75 g carrot(s)
  • 100 g eggplant(s)
  • 50 g lotus root (renkon) optional
  • 75 g yellow onion(s)
  • 100 g green bell pepper(s)

Instructions 

Marinating the chicken

  • Cut 250 g boneless chicken thigh(s) into bitesize pieces and place them in a container.
    chicken thigh cut into bitesize pieces on a black chopping board
  • Add 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sake, ½ tsp grated ginger root and ½ tsp grated garlic. Mix thoroughly and make sure all of the chicken is coated, then cover and marinate in the fridge for 10 minutes.
    marinating chicken thigh in a metal container

Kurozu an Sauce

  • Take a jug or bowl and add 3 ½ tbsp light brown sugar, 2 tbsp apple vinegar, 1 ½ tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp Japanese black vinegar (kurozu), 2 tsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp water and 1 tsp cornstarch. Mix until the sugar and cornstarch are fully dissolved and set aside for later.
    kurozuan sauce in a glass jug

Prepping

  • Take a large frying pan and add about 2cm cooking oil (approx 1 inch). Heat the oil to 180 °C (356 °F). While you wait for the oil to heat up, cut the vegetables.
    2cm oil
  • Roughly cut 100 g eggplant(s) with the skin on, and soak in cold water for 5 minutes. If you're using 50 g lotus root, peel it and cut it into thick slices, then place them in the bowl with the eggplant.
    soaking eggplant in a bowl
  • Peel 75 g carrot(s) and cut it into rough pieces. Cut the 100 g green bell pepper(s) and 75 g yellow onion(s) into roughly 2cm (approx 1 inch) squares.
    carrot, onion, green bell pepper and lotus root on a wooden chopping board

Frying

  • Once the oil has finished heating, add the carrot and fry for 3 minutes on each side.
    shallow frying carrot
  • Remove the carrot and place on a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drip off.
    fried carrot on a wire rack
  • Remove the eggplant and lotus root from the water and dry each piece thoroughly with kitchen paper. Place each piece into the oil along with the green pepper and fry for 1 minute.
    eggplant, bell peppers and lotus root shallow frying in a pan
  • After one minute, remove and drain on the wire rack.
    draining shallow fried vegetables on a wire rack
  • Add the onion to the oil and fry for 1 min. Once finished, transfer to the wire rack and reduce the heat to 170 °C (338 °F).
    frying onion in oil
  • Sprinkle 2 tbsp potato starch onto a plate and roll each piece of marinated chicken in the starch before placing it into the oil.
    coating chicken in potato starch
  • Fry the chicken for 3 minutes on each side.
    shallow frying chicken in a pan
  • After 6 minutes in total, increase the heat to 190 °C (374 °F) and fry for 1 more minute on each side.
    shallow frying chicken at a higher temperature
  • Transfer the chicken to a wire rack to allow the excess oil to drip off.
    fried chicken resting on a wire rack
  • Finally, heat a large frying pan or wok on medium, add a small drizzle of oil and then add the fried vegetables and chicken. Take the jug of sauce from earlier and give it a mix before pouring it into the pan.
    adding kurozu an sauce to vegetables and fried chicken
  • Stir fry until the sauce has thickened and coats the chicken and vegetables.
    kurozu an sauce thickened
  • Serve up and enjoy!
    Final tori to yasai no kurozu an (Japanese black vinegar chicken) in a blue plate

Notes

If you don't want to shallow fry the vegetables, you can stir-fry the vegetables. Just note that this will change the overall texture and look of the dish, and will also take longer to cook.
If you can't get black vinegar, mix 1 tsp of rice vinegar with 1 tsp balsamic vinegar.