Sweet and Sour Chicken (Ootoya Tori Kurozu-An)

Step 1

Gather all the ingredients.

Step 2

Make the marinade. Grate the ginger and garlic. Combine the ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sake in a large bowl.

Step 3

Trim off and discard any excess fat from the chicken, then cut the meat into bite size pieces and add them to the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 10 min.

Step 4

Combine all the ingredients for Black Vinegar Sauce and mix well together.

Step 5

Cut the potato in half and 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.

Step 6

Potatoes and carrots take too long to deep fry; therefore we boil them first for 10 minutes until they are tender. Drain and set aside.

Step 7

Cut the lotus root to ⅛" (3 mm) slices and eggplant into ½” (1.3 cm) slices.

Step 8

Cut onion and green peppers in wedges and cut half in length-wise.

Step 9

In a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed pot, add 3 cups of oil. Depending on the size of your pot, you will need more or less oil to have at least 2 inches (5 cm) of oil in the pot. If you are new to deep-frying, read the post about how to deep fry here. Preheat the oil to 340ºF (170ºC). Using a paper towel, pat dry the vegetables before you add them to the oil. Deep fry until they’re tender. Be careful not to over/under cook. When they’re done, drain the oil on a wire rack or paper towel.

Step 10

Next, coat the chicken in potato starch and deep fry at 340ºF (170ºC) for 5 minutes or until golden brown. If the chicken is being browned too quickly, adjust the heat and make sure the chicken is cooked through. Drain the oil well on a wire rack or paper towel.

Step 11

When the chicken is done deep frying, heat 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, toss and combine. Transfer to a plate and serve.

Step 12

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