McDonald’s Szechuan sauce is now in China

The famous limited edition sauce from 1998 that became a hit years later after it was featured on an episode of Rick and Morty has finally made it to China. But despite it's Chinese-like name, the sauce is an American invention, one that a lot of Chinese netizens just can't wrap their taste buds around.

[Photo: Weibo]

The Szechuan sauce, a name that derives from Sichuan Province, tastes nothing like the food that most Chinese people associate with that region in China.

McDonald’s originally created the dip in 1998 as tie-in with the Disney movie Mulan, and it was name-dropped by the American cartoon Rick and Morty in April 2017. Fans of the series petitioned for the fast-food conglomerate to bring it back, and they did in October that same year, launching a highly limited run in select locations around the US.

[Photo: Weibo ]

The sauce sold out almost immediately, and fans, some of whom were lining up since 4 a.m., protested, overran some restaurants, and even rioted. Police had to be called to some locations. McDonald’s eventually apologized for not stocking enough, and rolled out the condiment in all their American branches last month.

[Photo: Facebook]

Mcdonald's is calling the Chinese version of the sauce wanghong zanjiang (网红赞酱), or internet-famous sauce, but there isn’t any Rick and Morty branding. Just some mountains and pandas, both are symbols of Sichuan Province. 
It has left many in China feeling confused, as the sauce has gotten "lost in translation." 

[Photo: Rick and Morty ]

On Weibo, China's version of Twitter, many have commented. "It’s more like soy sauce,” commented tangzhansushu (唐斩俗叔), while yeda (叶大) called it salty and not spicy. “I don’t think it taste good,” wrote xiaoshoushuishu (小兽睡睡), but Chocberry had the last word: “I don’t understand Americans’ taste.”