Chinese Clay Pot Chicken Experts Coming to San Diego

Yang’s Braised Chicken Rice has built an empire of eateries, 6,000 and counting across mainland China, Japan, Singapore and Australia, on one single dish: clay pot chicken. The brand is now poised to enter the U.S.; Eater LA has details on the first outlet, which will grand open in Tustin on September 10. Created in 2011 by founder Xiao Lu Yang, Yang’s Braised Chicken was initially launched in Jinan, the capital of China’s eastern Shandong province of China. Its specialty, called huang men chicken, is a signature dish of the region’s lu cai style of traditional cuisine. Based on Yang’s grandmother’s original recipe from the 1930s, one pound of marinated chicken thigh is braised in individual clay pot with a secret sauce, ginger, mushrooms and chilies. The eatery offers the clay pot chicken in three degrees of spiciness — mild, medium or spicy — along with unlimited sides of rice, for $9.99.

Courtesy photo

The Tustin store, operated by the corporate-owned, SoCal-based Yang Ming Yu Braised Chicken USA Group, will be followed by more locations across the country; the company is currently fielding interest from potential franchisees. Eriko Zhao, VP of Yang’s Braised Chicken Rice, confirmed to Eater that the eatery will expand into San Diego with multiple locations. With an ideally-sized footprint ranging from 800-square-feet to 1,200-square-feet, Zhao says the company is interested in sites near city attractions such as the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld.