The Complicated Story Behind McDonald's Szechuan Sauce Controversy, Explained

In 1998, McDonald's released Szechuan Sauce as part of a marketing partnership with Disney to promote Mulan. Almost 20 years later, a re-release of that sauce would cause a tremendous fuss. Why? It all comes back to the sci-fi comedy cartoon, "Rick and Morty." In Season 3, Episode 1, the main character Rick Sanchez says, "I want that Mulan McNugget sauce, Morty. That's my series arc, Morty." 

In response, nearly 50,000 fans signed a petition asking McDonald's to bring back Szechuan Sauce. The McDonald's test kitchen made four jugs, sending three to lucky fans and one to show co-creator Justin Roiland. "We'll spare you the physics, but turns out, Dimension C-1998M is a dimension where it's always 1998," ex-McDonald's chef Mike Haracz wrote in a letter accompanying the shipment.

It could have ended there, but that's where the fast-food chain misstepped, Haracz said in a TikTok video. McDonald's announced that fans could get Szechuan Sauce for one day only at participating locations. Unfortunately for McDonald's, October 7, 2017, did not go as planned.

To prepare for the October 7 re-release, McDonald's made a limited amount of Szechuan Sauce and distributed it to a small selection of American locations. In a statement released after the event, McDonald's said, "It quickly became apparent we did not make enough [Szechuan Sauce] to meet the expectations of our fans." That was a nice way of putting it.

To get a taste of Szechuan Sauce, Rick and Morty fans camped out overnight. They crossed state lines. And when there wasn't enough sauce to meet the extreme demand, some protested. A viral video shows one man jumping on the counter, shouting, "I'm Pickle Rick," then falling to the floor, ree-ing. (Note: The subject of that video said it was intended as a joke.) At another location, an angry crowd chanted, "We want sauce!" as police cars lined up in front of the restaurant.

In the end, McDonald's apologized for the shortfall and brought back Szechuan sauce (again), shipping out 20 million packets for purchase on February 26, 2018. But the damage was done. "It is my understanding that there is litigation, or was, and neither of them [i.e., Rick and Morty or McDonald's] are allowed to talk about each other, at all, whatsoever," former McDonald's chef Mike Haracz said in his TikTok video.

What did the lucky fans who waited in line – or won eBay auctions – for Szechuan Sauce actually taste? According to McDonald's, "Szechuan Sauce has a savory and slightly sweet taste profile with hints of soy, garlic, ginger and mild vinegar notes to round out your dipping sauce experience." Less appetizingly, food critic Robert Sietsema found it "jaw achingly sweet."

According to Sietsema, the McDonald's dip is reminiscent of baby shrimp in Szechuan sauce, a retro Chinese-American restaurant dish that was more on the sugary side than the spicy. Today, people are more likely to associate Szechuan with the numbing spice of Szechuan peppercorns.

If you want to try Szechuan Sauce for yourself, you could bid for some on eBay. You could wait for McDonald's to release another limited run – it was last available on the McDonald's app in the spring of 2022. Or, if neither of those options works, you could try McDonald's new spicy sauce. The Sweet & Spicy Jam actually contains Szechuan peppercorns – and it's never caused chaos.