While we all experience hangovers differently, the general consensus is that they’re no fun at all.
Hangovers are as old as drinking alcohol itself; humans have likely been searching for the perfect remedy to the pounding headaches and queasiness associated with having too much booze in the system since ancient civilisations first began experimenting with fermentation.
The lore surrounding hangover cures (or pre-emptive measures) is strong: some people, like Dean Martin and Ernest Hemingway, swear by the ‘hair of the dog’ method – offsetting the feeling of a hangover by continuing to drink. Others are all about the two-Nurofen-and-Gatorade-before-bed plan of attack, in an attempt to chase away the hangover before it sets in. And then, there are the edible antidotes. All around the world, people have their ways – maybe it’s eating your weight in preserved plums in Japan, or drowning your sorrows with a bowl of tripe soup in Mexico.
Here are the hangover cures adopted in countries across the globe. But be warned: ‘cure’ is a term thrown around loosely (as anyone who’s woken up with an absolute pearler knows, little beyond bed rest, reality TV and time actually helps).
Russia and Ukraine: solyanka
The region's answer to a hangover soup is solyanka, a salty-sour-spicy concoction that packs a punch strong enough to dust away even the strongest of alcohol-induced cobwebs. Cured meats (beef and pork, usually), sausages, olives, capers, pickles, cabbage, carrots, dill and sour cream work in unison to not only replenish salt levels, but to prep your stomach for another round of vodka as well.
No doubt, Russian football fans, in anticipation of downing one too many Baltikas for this weekend's World Cup quarter final match versus Croatia, have got a pot of solyanka on the simmer.
Japan: umeboshi
Japanese people hail this salty-sour, acidic pickled stone fruit as the cure to end all cures. Although small in size, this variety of apricot has the power to soothe body aches, improve liver function and aids digestion – exactly what you need after drinking too much sake.
Germany: pickled herring (Katerfrühstück)
Katerfrühstück translates to hangover breakfast, a German mean that usually consists of pickled herring (rollmops), pickles and other sour foods. Pungent cylinders of preserved herring are wrapped around gherkins or onions and then skewered with a toothpick, in an attempt to knock the hangover right out of you – the high-sodium content is said to restore some much-needed electrolytes after a big night.
Romania: tripe soup
Perhaphs fans won't need to call this one in as Romania has qualified. Ciorba de burta (tripe soup) is certainly not for the faint-hearted, or the mildly hungover – eating it is a commitment, a testament to feeling so terrible you’ll do anything to make it stop. It’s a salty, sour soup (notice a trend?), made with root vegetables, garlic, vinegar and sour cream – and tripe, the stomach of a cow.
Romanians swear by it, but we’re wondering whether a good old cheeseburger (sans tripe) would do the trick?
All around the world, people have their ways – maybe it’s eating your weight in preserved plums in Japan, or drowning your sorrows with a bowl of tripe soup in Mexico.
Poland: pickle juice
Hold the pickles – in Poland, all you apparently need to get over the worst hangover of your life is a big swig of brine.
Jam-packed with salt, vitamin C, vinegar and water, pickle juice is more or less exactly what your body needs during a hangover, so get drinking.
Mexico: menudo and te de poléo
If you find yourself in Mexico reeling after one margarita too many, be brave and order a bowl of menudo – beef tripe in broth made with chilli, lime, onions and oregano.
Wash it down with te de poléo (pennyroyal tea), a refreshing, minty blast, known for having a soothing effect on the stomach. After a bowl of tripe soup, you may need it.
Peru: tiger's milk
Part aphrodisiac, part hangover cure – leche de tigre or ‘the juices of ceviche’ is known as a staple in Peruvian cooking. Tiger's milk refers to the liquid left over from a bowl of ceviche, consisting of citrus, chillies, onions and remnants of fresh seafood. Slurp up the juice after finishing off your serving of ceviche, or shoot the juice from a glass on the side. Either way, your hangover could be history.
Mongolia: bantan and Mongolian Mary
If you baulked at tripe soup, feel free to keep scrolling. While a Mongolian Mary may sound innocent enough, this traditional hangover cure is actually a heady cocktail made with tomato juice and pickled sheep eyes.
Bantan is slightly easier to swallow. It’s a soup that's flavoured with meat and dough crumbs, resembling a kind of warm hug.
South Korea: haejangguk
Haejangguk translates literally as ‘stew to cure hangovers’, so it must be a sure thing – right? This hearty, rehydrating hotpot consists of dried seaweed, beef chuck, shiitake mushrooms, onions, cabbage, red pepper flakes and a whole bunch of garlic, among other things.
Of course, if you’re hungover in South Korea, you might bypass savoury food altogether and head straight for the ice-cream bar being marketed as the place to find the ultimate hangover cure.
Indonesia and Singapore: kaya toast
Kaya is a sweet coconut jam, and in Indonesia, it goes on toast with sugar, coconut milk, pandan and sometimes a light spread of butter. Feeling extra hungry (or extra hungover)? Some people order a side of soft-boiled eggs alongside kaya toast, for dipping.
While a Mongolian Mary may sound innocent enough, this traditional hangover cure is actually a heady cocktail made with tomato juice and pickled sheep eyes.
Take your kaya toast with a side of kopi (Malay for coffee) and you’ll hopefully be back to normal before you know it.
Bangladesh: coconut water
This is one hangover cure that the rest of the world seems to have cottoned onto (the global coconut water market is expected to grow by more than 26.75 per cent each year until 2020). Traditionally used in Bangladesh to cure hangovers, coconut water is known to replenish electrolytes and rehydrate drinkers, all with minimal calories and next to no fat.
South Africa: ostrich egg omelette
South Africans enjoy a big cook-up the morning after just like Brits and Australians – except theirs are made with ostrich eggs.
A single ostrich egg is equivalent to 24 regular chicken eggs, so best to gather a crowd for a hangover-kicking feast. Here’s hoping someone in your group can figure out how to crack open an ostrich egg.
China: congee
Chinese rice porridge, or congee, has long been considered a staple for anyone feeling unwell, so eating a bowl or two to ameliorate the ill effects of a hangover is a no-brainer. Nourishing and hydrating in equal measure, congee fills you up and nurses you back to health. The best part? It’s totally customisable depending on your needs (read: hangover level): load up your bowl with salted duck eggs and various rich meats, or keep it simple if your stomach is a little worse for wear.
Colombia: sancocho de costilla
Another hearty soup to ease the pain, this time made with potatoes, green bananas, cassava, corn on the cob and beef chops, traditionally served with rice and avocado.
Iceland: sviðasulta
Iceland one-ups Mongolia’s sheep-eye cocktail with sviðasulta – sheep's head terrine. What it lacks in appeal, it makes up for in nutrients: the bone broth and protein from the sheep’s head is perfect for a hangover (provided you can keep it down). Mongolian Marys now sound quite good, in comparison.
Australia: green ant tea
Small, but powerful – green ants have been used by Indigenous Australians for thousands of years for their healing properties. Usually consumed in tea form, green ants are a known natural remedy for headaches and colds. Plus, green ant tea apparently tastes like lime, making it slightly more palatable than sheep's head terrine and tripe soup.
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