Ootoya’s Sweet and Sour Chicken (Tori Kurozu-An) (Video) 大戸屋鶏と野菜の黒酢あん

This Chinese-style Sweet and Sour Chicken uses black rice vinegar to create a deep, malty, and savory sauce. Try my copycat recipe of the popular dish Tori Kurozu-an from the famous Japanese diner Ootoya 大戸屋.

Sweet and sour dishes from Chinese restaurants are really popular and my children love them whether they’re made with chicken or pork. Japanese-style sweet and sour chicken is a little different from the typical one you’ve tried, however.

What makes it Japanese-style? In this post, I’ll explain the key features and share my copycat recipe for Ootoya’s Sweet and Sour Chicken.

What is Japanese Sweet and Sour Chicken?

This is a copycat recipe from a popular diner in Japan called Ootoya (大戸屋), which specializes in Japanese home-cooking dishes (katei ryori 家庭料理). In Japan, we refer to the sweet and sour sauce as amazu-an (甘酢あん), literary meaning “sweet vinegar gravy.” On Ootoya’s menu, this recipe is called Tori Kurozu-An (鶏と野菜の黒酢あん).

This sweet and sour chicken has been my favorite from Ootoya’s menu since I first tried this dish years and years ago. Here are the key features of this Japanese homestyle version of the dish:

• Uses Japanese black rice vinegar (黒酢, kurozu) – Black rice vinegar is an aged vinegar made from rice. It is less sour with a deeper flavor than regular rice vinegar and is milder than Chinese black vinegar.
• Omits ketchup – You won’t see the typical red color in Japanese-style sweet and sour sauce.
• Includes various vegetables – This version also contains several types of veggies not normally seen in Chinese-style sweet and sour chicken.

Ingredients for Sweet and Sour Chicken

• chicken thighs
• potatoes
• lotus root (renkon)
• carrot
• Japanese or Chinese eggplant
• onion
• green pepper
• potato starch or cornstarch
• neutral oil – for deep-frying

For the Marinade:

• grated ginger, grated garlic, soy sauce, and sake

For the Black Vinegar Sauce:

• sugar
• apple cider vinegar
• soy sauce
• Japanese black vinegar (kurozu) – use half the amount you use Chinese black vinegar
• mirin
• water
• sake
• potato starch or cornstarch

How To Make Sweet and Sour Chicken

1. Make the marinade. Grate the ginger and garlic clove. Combine with soy sauce and sake in a large bowl.
2. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add to the marinade, coat well, and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the black vinegar sauce. In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients and mix well to dissolve the sugar.
4. Prep the vegetables. Cut the potatoes and carrot into small pieces and boil for 10 minutes until tender; drain. Peel and cut the lotus root and eggplant. Cut the onion and green pepper into wedges, then cut in half crosswise.
5. Pat dry the vegetables with a paper towel and deep-fry in neutral oil until tender. Be careful not to overcook or undercook. Drain them on a wire rack or paper towel.
6. Coat the chicken pieces in potato starch or cornstarch. Deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack or paper towel.
7. Toss together the deep-fried vegetables and chicken in a wok. Once reheated, add the black vinegar sauce and toss to combine. Transfer to a plate and serve.

Suage, a Japanese Deep-frying Technique

This recipe uses a Japanese cooking technique called suage (素揚げ, “su-ah-geh”). It means deep-frying without a coating of flour or batter. This technique is used mostly for vegetables, but sometimes meat, too.

The suage technique helps the ingredient keep its original flavor, color, and shape. By deep-frying vegetables for a short period of time, you can keep the crispness of the vegetables. This compares to stir-frying, which takes longer than deep-frying and sometimes cooks the veggies unevenly or makes them wilt and soften.

Packaged vs. Homemade Sweet and Sour Chicken

When I was in Japan last summer, I shared on Instagram a picture of this dish while dining there. A JOC reader in Australia left a comment saying that Ootoya actually sells a pre-made package of this special kurozu-an sauce. So the next time I passed by the restaurant, I bought two packages to try back at home.

After returning to the US, I made this dish at home with the packaged sauce, then tried to recreate this flavor. While testing my own recipe, I found out Ootoya actually shares the recipe for this dish online! So I made 3 batches for the taste test:

1. Ootoya’s packaged sauce
2. Ootoya’s online recipe
3. My homemade version of Ootoya’s sauce

Our family had a serious tasting session for this recipe and one sauce won everyone’s votes for the best flavor. It was actually mine! My version was not that different from the original sauce, but in my humble opinion, I think mine has a better balance than the packaged one or the Ootoya’s recipe.

However, I still think the restaurant serves the best Tori Kurozu-An! For home cooking, though, my family agrees that my recipe was the best. I wrote down the exact measurements I used, so please try to be accurate for the best result.

If you have a chance, try this dish at one of Ootoya locations both in Japan and elsewhere like Singapore, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and New York City in the US.

Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Ootoya Tori Kurozu-An)

4.61 from 33 votes

This Chinese-style Sweet and Sour Chicken uses black rice vinegar to create a deep, malty, and savory sauce. Try my copycat recipe of the popular dish Tori Kurozu-an from the famous Japanese diner Ootoya 大戸屋.

Print Pin

Video

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Servings: 2

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 chicken thighs (11 oz, 312 g)
• ▢ 3 potatoes
• ▢ 3 inches lotus root (renkon)
• ▢ ½ carrot
• ▢ 1 Japanese or Chinese eggplant
• ▢ ½ onion
• ▢ ½ green pepper
• ▢ ½ cup potato starch or cornstarch
• ▢ 3 cups neutral oil (for deep-frying)

For the Marinade

• ▢ 1 tsp ginger (grated, with juice)
• ▢ 1 clove garlic
• ▢ 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tbsp sake

For the Black Vinegar Sauce

• ▢ 4 Tbsp sugar
• ▢ 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tbsp Japanese black vinegar (kurozu) (If you use Chinese black vinegar, use ½ Tbsp as it has a stronger flavor)
• ▢ 1 Tbsp mirin
• ▢ 1 Tbsp water
• ▢ 1 Tbsp sake
• ▢ 2 tsp potato starch or cornstarch

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Gather all the ingredients.
  
• Make the marinade. Grate the ginger and collect 1 tsp ginger (with juice). Grate 1 clove garlic. Combine the ginger, garlic, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp sake in a large bowl.
  
• Trim off and discard any excess fat from 2 chicken thighs, then cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and add them to the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
  
• Combine all the ingredients for the Black Vinegar Sauce: 4 Tbsp sugar, 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp Japanese black vinegar (kurozu), 1 Tbsp mirin, 1 Tbsp water, 1 Tbsp sake, and 2 tsp potato starch or cornstarch. Mix it well together.
  
• Peel and cut 3 potatoes in half. Peel and cut ½ carrot into small pieces. For the carrot, I use the rangiri cutting technique to create more surface space so that they will cook faster and look pretty.
  
• Potatoes and carrots take too long to cook by deep-frying alone; therefore, we boil them first for 10 minutes until they are tender. Drain and set aside.
  
• Peel and cut 3 inches lotus root (renkon) into ⅛-inch (3-mm) slices. Peel 1 Japanese or Chinese eggplant in a striped pattern and cut it into ½-inch (1.3-cm) slices.
  
• Cut ½ onion into wedges and cut the wedges in half crosswise. Cut ½ green pepper into wedges, then cut the wedges in half crosswise.
  

To Cook

• In a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, add 3 cups neutral oil. Make sure you have at least 2 inches (5 cm) of oil in the pot. Depending on the size of your pot, you may need more or less oil. If you are new to deep-frying, read my post on How to Deep-Fry Food for helpful tips. Preheat the oil to 340ºF (170ºC). Using a paper towel, pat dry the vegetables. Then, add them to the oil and deep-fry until they‘re tender. Be careful not to overcook or undercook. When they’re done, drain them on a wire rack or paper towel.
  
• Next, coat the chicken pieces in ½ cup potato starch or cornstarch and deep-fry at 340ºF (170ºC) for 5 minutes or until golden brown. If the chicken is browning too quickly, lower the heat to make sure the chicken gets cooked through. Then, place the chicken pieces on a wire rack or paper towel and drain well.
  

To Add the Sauce and Serve

• When you‘re done deep-frying the chicken, reheat the wok and toss the deep-fried vegetables and chicken together. When they are re-heated evenly, pour the Black Vinegar Sauce over the chicken and vegetables and toss to combine. Transfer the Sweet and Sour Chicken to a plate and serve.
  

To Store

• You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Notes

This recipe is slightly adapted from Ootoya Tori Kurozu-An recipe.

Are you new to deep-frying? Read my post about  How to Deep-Fry Food.

Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.

Nutrition

Calories: 1079 kcal · Carbohydrates: 110 g · Protein: 38 g · Fat: 54 g · Saturated Fat: 11 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 21 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 17 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 153 mg · Sodium: 1136 mg · Potassium: 2441 mg · Fiber: 14 g · Sugar: 23 g · Vitamin A: 2812 IU · Vitamin C: 99 mg · Calcium: 104 mg · Iron: 5 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: chicken

©JustOneCookbook.com Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any website or social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.

Did you make this recipe?If you made this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook! We love to see your creations on Instagram @justonecookbook!