What recipe do aliens seek from Rick in M. Night Shaym-Aliens!?

In “M. Night Shaym-Aliens!?,” the aliens seek Rick’s recipe for Concentrated Dark Matter.

The Zigerions believe the formula could give them a major advantage in interstellar travel. They imprison Rick and Jerry in a virtual-reality environment and repeatedly manipulate the simulation, hoping Rick will reveal the secret. The episode turns the usual “genius inventor” plot into a battle of deception, because Rick knows the aliens are trying to extract information from him.

Rick eventually appears to disclose the ingredients: cesium, plutonic quarks, and bottled water. However, the recipe is a trap. The Zigerions use it after Rick escapes, and the resulting explosion proves that the information was false. Concentrated Dark Matter is consequently both the aliens’ objective and the mechanism of Rick’s revenge.