McDonald's Insanely Popular Szechuan Sauce May Come Back Soon

David Moye
Updated

McDonald’s got a taste of the demand for its Szechuan-themed chicken nugget sauce last fall. Now it looks like the fast food giant is going whole hog for it.

The company hasn’t officially announced the sauce’s return. However, Heavy unearthed documents shared on Reddit that indicate the sauce could be available in some McDonald’s locations as early as Monday, Feb. 26.

The dipping sauce had briefly appeared in 1998 to help promote the Disney movie “Mulan.” It became a fad of sorts last April thanks to the Season 3 premiere of animated series “Rick and Morty,” where Rick declares it his life mission to get the sauce.

“I want that Mulan McNugget sauce, Morty,” he says in the episode. “That’s my series arc, Morty! If it takes nine seasons!”

The interest generated by the series inspired McDonald’s to bring the obscure sauce back for one day in October.

The end result: long lines, disappointed customers and tons of media exposure. Demand for the sauce was so high that one woman claimed she was able to trade a packet of it for a car.

The company promised to bring back the sauce to its locations during wintertime.

Photos of the sauce have been tweeted by various people who claim to be in the know.

HuffPost reached out to McDonald’s, but the fast food chain did not immediately respond. However, this tweet from Monday suggests that the wait may soon be over.

The company followed up with this tweet on Tuesday afternoon.

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Whether the sauce lives up to the hype is another matter. One Reddit user who tried the sauce said it was “amazing” and tasted like “bbq, honey, and teriyaki mixed together.”

However, “Rick and Morty” co-creator Dan Harmon wasn’t as impressed.

“I personally thought it was a sauce that was trying too hard in a world where with McNuggets sauce you just want something to taste like honey or like a BBQ sauce,” he told Entertainment Weekly in September. “It was sauce that was trying to prove it was different and in doing so it worked harder than a sauce should; it was working too hard to be a sauce.”

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Ketchup

Ketchup is the most basic condiment of all, the overrated tomato-sugar paste that goes on everything from scrambled eggs (gross) to well-done ribeyes (the worst). As if it not already bad, some people like to spell it "catsup." Use it if there's nothing else available.
Ketchup is the most basic condiment of all, the overrated tomato-sugar paste that goes on everything from scrambled eggs (gross) to well-done ribeyes (the worst). As if it not already bad, some people like to spell it "catsup." Use it if there's nothing else available.

Relish

Almost as bad as ketchup, relish is secretly just chopped up pickles! You can also make relish out of fruits, but since it is a gross idea to mix peaches and mango with salt and vinegar, we kept it on the worst side of our list.
Almost as bad as ketchup, relish is secretly just chopped up pickles! You can also make relish out of fruits, but since it is a gross idea to mix peaches and mango with salt and vinegar, we kept it on the worst side of our list.

Piccalilli

Piccalilli is one of those tricky condiments, because the ingredients are tasty -- green tomatoes, salt, cabbage, onions, green peppers, turmeric, mustard seed, celery, brown sugar and allspice are usual suspects -- but it just looks too gross to eat.
Piccalilli is one of those tricky condiments, because the ingredients are tasty -- green tomatoes, salt, cabbage, onions, green peppers, turmeric, mustard seed, celery, brown sugar and allspice are usual suspects -- but it just looks too gross to eat.

Tartar Sauce

Why wouldn't you use mayonnaise or aioli instead? Why would you add pickles, olives and onions? No thank you, tartar sauce.
Why wouldn't you use mayonnaise or aioli instead? Why would you add pickles, olives and onions? No thank you, tartar sauce.

Yellow Mustard

When there are so many good mustards out there, why would you choose this one? Yellow mustard, you are only a few ranks better than ketchup.
When there are so many good mustards out there, why would you choose this one? Yellow mustard, you are only a few ranks better than ketchup.

Ranch

Some people swear by ranch -- for everything. Salad? OK. Chicken melt? Mayyybe. Pizza? Get out of here!
Some people swear by ranch -- for everything. Salad? OK. Chicken melt? Mayyybe. Pizza? Get out of here!

Fruit Jam

We'll take it on toast, in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, in cookies or in cake. We love the seeds and the tart flavor, but that's about all it's good for. 
We'll take it on toast, in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, in cookies or in cake. We love the seeds and the tart flavor, but that's about all it's good for. 

Wasabi

If&nbsp;you don't mind spending <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29082091" target="_blank">$160 per kilogram for a condiment</a> (we also don't know why you would want that much), genuine wasabi is an herbal, complex, fresh way to spice up your lunch. Just watch out for its evil-bizarro&nbsp;<a href="http://www.steamykitchen.com/15015-real-fresh-wasabi.html" target="_hplink">green-colored horseradish</a>&nbsp;twin.

Horseradish

Horseradish is about the only condiment we can condone putting&nbsp;onto your steak (go home,&nbsp;A-1 sauce) plus it goes well in a bloody mary, the T-bone&nbsp;of cocktails.
Horseradish is about the only condiment we can condone putting onto your steak (go home, A-1 sauce) plus it goes well in a bloody mary, the T-bone of cocktails.

Fish Sauce

Fish sauce -- fish fermented with salt -- is the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/05/umami-burger-recipe-fish-sauce-hamburger-marinade_n_7512256.html">secret ingredient to making the best burgers</a> in the world. No kidding. It also makes&nbsp;everything else taste better, too. It can bring layers of depth to your food and once you start cooking with it, you won't look back.

Aioli

Like mayonnaise, aioli is an emulsion of egg yolks, oil and lemon juice, but <a href="http://www.foodrepublic.com/2013/06/24/what-difference-between-mayonnaise-and-aioli" target="_hplink">aioli contains</a> garlic. We love 'em both.
Like mayonnaise, aioli is an emulsion of egg yolks, oil and lemon juice, but aioli contains garlic. We love 'em both.

Hoisin Sauce

Oh, hoisin sauce. You are quite&nbsp;limited, but what you do to duck is sublime. How you transform everything from spring rolls to soup is something special. We don't want to live in a world without you, and we never want to eat Chinese food without you at our side. But other than that, we'll keep you out of it.
Oh, hoisin sauce. You are quite limited, but what you do to duck is sublime. How you transform everything from spring rolls to soup is something special. We don't want to live in a world without you, and we never want to eat Chinese food without you at our side. But other than that, we'll keep you out of it.

Soy Sauce

We feel very medium about soy sauce (or shoyu sauce, if you live in Hawaii). It's so salty. And there are <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/08/soy-sauce_n_5105861.html">so many different shades of soy</a>, as well as&nbsp;Chinese or Japanese versions.&nbsp;You can make it yourself if you don't mind waiting for it to ferment for a year. Still, it's verrrrry deliciously salty.

Barbecue Sauce

Made well, barbecue&nbsp;sauce can be golden. Made poorly -- as in too sweet --&nbsp;it can ruin an ENTIRE RACK OF RIBS. That's a lot at 'steak.'
Made well, barbecue sauce can be golden. Made poorly -- as in too sweet -- it can ruin an ENTIRE RACK OF RIBS. That's a lot at 'steak.'

Sriracha

Certain food trends are inexplicable. Sriracha is not one of them. In <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/21/hot-sauce-bloody-mary_n_4826492.html" target="_hplink">bloody marys</a> or on chicken wings, Sriracha tastes good on basically everything.

Mayonnaise

It's <a href="http://qz.com/172019/ketchup-isnt-the-king-of-american-condiments-mayonnaise-is/" target="_hplink">America's favorite condiment</a> -- and when made from scratch, we&nbsp;tend to agree with America.
It's America's favorite condiment -- and when made from scratch, we tend to agree with America.

Honey Mustard

Yellow mustard might be as lame as it gets, but stir in some honey and you've just put it IN OUR TOP FIVE.
Yellow mustard might be as lame as it gets, but stir in some honey and you've just put it IN OUR TOP FIVE.

Vinegar

Vinegar might seem like an unlikely candidate, but it works magic -- on fries, potato chips, fish, meats and even vegetables. Like mustard, it's the base of many other condiments and sauces, and eaten alone, it will sharpen your food to a new level. With so many kinds of vinegar, you can pretty much use it on anything, and you should. It's the skeleton key of condiments!

Salsa

Salsa goes on everything that ketchup goes on, but it's way better than ketchup. And healthier, usually. Plus, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uub_Oqwefwc" target="_blank">people like to say "salsa."</a>
Salsa goes on everything that ketchup goes on, but it's way better than ketchup. And healthier, usually. Plus, people like to say "salsa."

Salt

Salt is the king of the condiments. If, by definition, a condiment is what "<a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/condiment" target="_blank">enhances your food</a>," nothing does it better than salt. Sure, you may argue that it's a "seasoning" and not a condiment, but to each his own. Just pass the salt.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.