Popular animation sparks craze for McDonald's Szechuan sauce

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A limited-edition dipping sauce launched by McDonald's 20 years ago recently returned to public eyes thanks to an American adult animation, igniting furious bidding war on eBay and online petitions signed by hundreds of thousands of people.

In the latest season of Rick and Morty, which premiered on April 1, 2017, Rick confessed to Morty that he was doing everything only to get his hands on McDonald's Szechuan (spelled as "Sichuan" in Mandarin) sauce. 

Here is the plot☟

Time-traveling scientist Rick Sanchez admitted that his sole motivation in life is "finding that McNugget sauce."

"Nine more seasons until I get that dipping Szechuan sauce, or 97 more years, Morty!" Sanchez said, foaming at the mouth.

Though the sauce in question hasn't been available at McDonald's since it was a promotional item for the animated Mulan, Rick and Morty's fans are petitioning for the sauce to come back.

The discontinued sauce soon became one of the hottest topics on the internet after the season was broadcast. 

Petition to bring back the sauce

A quick search on eBay shows dozens of sellers offering the product, attracting quite a few bidders although some of the listings are fake.

In one of the auctions, a packet of 28g Szechuan sauce was taken by a bidder at a mouthwatering price of $14,700 on Tuesday, reported China Youth Daily. 

The seller claimed that the precious packet was found in a vintage car he bought but didn't reply to inquiries by the newspaper.

Many people are petitioning online, urging McDonald's to bring back the legendary sauce. 

One of the petitions on change.org reads "McDonald's Szechuan sauce is the best sauce known to man. It would be a tragedy for it to not come back to McDonald's". 

By the time we publish this story, it has been signed by 32,518 supporters.

Terri Hickey, a spokesperson for McDonald's, said the sauce wasn't out of the question.

"We never say never, because when our customers speak, we listen," Hickey said, before making a Rick and Morty reference. 

"And to paraphrase some of our most enthusiastic fans, our sauce is so good that it would be worth waiting 9 seasons or 97 years for."

Lao Gan Ma as the counterpart?

Although the sauce is not originally from China or produced in the country, its name has drawn the attention of many curious netizens in China.

"I bet the sauce has nothing to do with Sichuan except its name," said one Weibo user. "But I still want to have a try!"

"It would be really great if McDonald's worked with Lao Gan Ma to make a chili sauce," proposed another user. 

Lao Gan Ma is an extremely popular brand of chili sauce in China. During recent years, more Chinese condiments found their ways to the plates of foreign foodies. 

Lao Gan Ma is rated 4.9 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com with many reviewers claiming it as the "best chili sauce" they ever tasted.