© McDonald's / © grape Japan

Japan’s Spicy Chicken McNuggets With Mega-Kara Sauce Will Suckerpunch Your Tastebuds

When we tried McDonald's Spicy Chicken McNuggets last year, with their Karasa Mashimashi Spicy Sauce (which translates as spicy sauce with extra spice added), we were pleasantly surprised. Since strong spices are not typical of Japanese cuisine, many things advertised as "spicy" in Japan are disappointingly mild to true spice enthusiasts, but those nuggets dipped in sauce indeed qualified as spicy (in our opinion).

So when McDonald's Japan announced that the their Spicy Chicken McNuggets were back, but this time with an even spicier "Mega-Kara" (mega spicy) sauce, journalistic duty compelled us to try them so we could find out how spicy they actually were (and if they were worth buying).


The box was the same as last year, but this time, we asked for the Mega-Kara Spicy Sauce. Since the spice level has gone up, they even put a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in it for good measure.

Photo by © grape Japan

The Spicy Chicken McNuggets themselves are a tone darker and redder than the regular variety, and have a satisfying (but, in our opinion, rather subtle) hint of spice to them.

Photo by © grape Japan

True to its Mega-Kara name, the sauce looks a tone redder than last year's Karasa Mashimashi Spicy Sauce. But of course, the proof is in the eating...

Photo by © grape Japan

Hmmm. The sauce clearly shows red specs of chili pepper on closer inspection...

Photo by © grape Japan

And then.... WHAM!. Our tastebuds were unmistakably startled.

From our experience last year, we knew the sauce would be much spicier than the nugget, but this was actually HOT.

This was noticeably spicier! While hardly the hottest sauce we'd ever tried, this was something the spice-lover in us could reasonably be satisfied with. Creamy and tangy, with a real kick of spice, this sauce really won us over. Last year, we thought the sauce was so good that we wished we had more nuggets to dip, so this year, we made sure to buy three packs.


We also tried their Camembert Cheese Sauce which is being offered in conjunction with the Mega-Kara Spicy Sauce during this limited time campaign.

Photo by © grape Japan

Satisfyingly rich and creamy, this sauce is great if you want to give your tastebuds a break from the Mega-Kara heat or if you don't like spicy foods and want to try something new.

Photo by © grape Japan


Spicy Chicken McNuggets are now on sale for 200 JPY for 5 pieces or 570 JPY for 15 pieces at participating McDonald's in Japan. Please visit their official page for details.


By - Ben K.