‘Rick And Morty’ May Convince McDonald’s To Bring Back The ‘Mulan’ Szechuan Sauce
This past weekend, Adult Swim surprised everyone on April Fools' Day by debuting the long-awaitedthird season premiere toRick and Morty, both online and on Cartoon Network. It was a welcome return for the brilliant animated comedy series, though it has caused some debate among fans as to whether what is actually going on in the episode (you can find out more about that here). But beyond having fans coming up with theories about the direction of the show, there was one other wayRick and Mortyworked fans into a frenzy.
In the episode, we learn that Rick has a potentially unhealthy affinity for a special Szechuan sauce that was given out with McDonald’s chicken nuggets for a limited time as part of a cross-promotion with the release ofMulanback in 1998. Despite demands by fans in various petitions online over the years, the sauce has remained hidden away. However, it sounds like there’s a chance its appearance inRick and Mortymay have convinced the fast food chain to bring it back.
First of all, for those who many not be familiar with theMulanSzechuan sauce promotion, here you go:
TheRick and Morty MulanSzechuan sauce obsession has only reinvigorated those who remember the Szechuan sauce, and the official Twitter account for the Adult Swim show even took their love of the condiment to McDonald’s itself:
.@RickandMortyMcNugga Lubba Dub Dub. 👀
— McDonald’s (@McDonalds)July 25, 2025
The fact that the fast food chain responded so enthusiastically (despitewhat “wubba lubba dub dub” really means) was encouraging. Then one fan took the demand for Szechuan sauce to McD Truth, a McDonald’s blog that provides inside information and insight about the company’s marketing and direction.
In turn, they called out corporate chefMike Haracz, who creates food for McDonald’s, to see if getting the sauce recipe off the shelf was possible. He responded (viaBusiness Insider):
I’ll see what I can do
— Chef Mike Haracz (@Mike_Haracz)June 02, 2025
The timing of this resurgence of demand for McDonald’s Szechuan sauce may be just a tad too early, though. The best time for the nugget dipping sauce to return to would be sometime next year, when Disney’s live-action adaptation ofMulancomes to theaters onNovember 2, 2018. Of course, I’m sure fans won’t be mad if McDonald’s brings it back before that just for the hell of it.
If this reference fromRick and Mortycan get McDonald’s to revive the Szechuan sauce, that would be quite the feat. Maybe they can start inserting references to other forgotten junk food like Dunkaroos, Nintendo cereal, Squeez-Its, Cookies n Cream Twix, Black Cherry Vanilla Coca-Cola and more.
