Szechuan Sauce is a former Chicken McNuggets condiment.
On June 19th, 1998, The Walt Disney Company released their animated feature film Mulan, the story of a brave daughter who posed as a man and enrolled into the Chinese military to take her wounded father's place in the fight against the Hun invasion. To coincide with the upcoming Disney film, McDonald's released a new limited-time condiment, Szechuan teriyaki dipping sauce. It was created to mimic traditional Chinese Szechuan Sauce, and it came complete with Happy Meal Chicken McNuggets and one out of a set of eight Mulan toys. After the promotion, the sauce was removed from all McDonald's restaurants. It has been revealed in a statement by McDonald's that Szechuan Sauce will be returning for one day on October 7th, 2017.
Rick and Morty
Talk of McDonald's Szechuan Sauce became prominent in 2017 when it was referenced in the popular Adult Swim show Rick and Morty. On April 1st, 2017, the first episode of the third season had a surprise airing with no announcement prior to the premiere. The episode opens up with the main protagonist, Rick, in a dream sequence in which he goes to a McDonald's within his memory to experience the taste of the Szechuan Sauce for one last time. The episode continues as normal until the gag is brought up again at the end of the episode, when Rick goes mad and yells about how one day, perhaps in 9 seasons or in 97 years, he will finally receive more Szechuan Sauce.
The unexpected nature of the premiere generated large amounts of discussion about the episode across social media, and with it, discussion of the repeatedly mentioned Szechuan Sauce, driving many fans of the show to want to try the sauce for themselves. Fans took to Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites to demand that McDonald's reintroduce Szechuan Sauce to their menu. McDonald's has acknowledged fans' requests, but has yet to confirm whether or not the sauce will ever be reintroduced. Some fans have predicted that the sauce will make a return when the new, live action Mulan movie hits theaters in 2018, but this seems unlikely since McDonald's promotional agreement with Disney ended in 2006.
On July 29th, 2017, Justin Roiland (the creator of Rick and Morty, as well as the voice of both title characters) posted on his Twitter that McDonald's had sent him a four pound bottle of their Szechuan Sauce in a customized suitcase with a humorous letter. In a statement provided by McDonald's, it has been confirmed that Szechuan sauce will temporarily return for a single day on the date of October 7th, 2017.
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