Hangover Foods From Around the World

From full, greasy English breakfasts to fiery Mexican tripe stew—the world offers a myriad of ways to revive your hungover soul.

Gillian Osswald

If you’re hunting for hangover cures online, you’ll likely get unwanted hits that give you methods for preventing a hangover in the first place (like, you know, drinking water lots of water and stuff). But unfortunately for some of us, that ship has sailed. So instead of just lying there thinking about how your whole body has dry-mouth, why not chase away those morning-after symptoms with some delicious grub?

All over the world, people have been in your shoes, and they’ve devised some effective ways to eat your way out of the pain. Use your mistakes as an opportunity to broaden your cultural horizons and check some of these global hangover cures out—they range from ever-popular menudo from Mexico, to delightfully greasy Australian tiger toast. If not now, you know these hung-over snacks will come in handy soon.

Click through the gallery to see some of the best hangover food cures from around the world.

English Breakfast

Place of origin: England What it is: A full English breakfast means a huge plate of bacon, sausage, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, and baked beans. While all that food may sound like a massive undertaking in your sub-prime state, The Daily Dust reports that it will give you the boost of protein, fiber, and fat your body needs. Maybe it’s not the healthiest hangover meal, but it’s got a lot of the nutrients you need, as well as the grease you're craving. Where you can find it in NYC: The Breslin's full English breakfast—complete with fried eggs, pork sausage, black pudding, and bacon—is not to be missed.
Menudo

Place of origin: Mexico What it is: Menudo is a spicy soup made from tomato broth and tripe. But don’t worry—Serious Eats notes that the spicy chilies smooth over the tripe’s chewy texture. With a homey and hydrating broth, this soup serves as a traditional hangover cure in Mexico, and the spicy kick is sure to help you sweat out your one-too-many from last night. Where you can find it in NYC: El Maguey y la Tuna literally lists the soup as “hangover cure,” so you know they’ve got what you need.
Haejangguk

Place of origin: Korea What it is: Haejangguk is a catch-all term for Korean soups, or guk, eaten to cure a hangover. Adventurous Appetite reports that the most common variety is comprised of beef broth with pork, congealed ox blood, and an array of veggies mixed in. Yes, congealed blood may sound a little scary, but trust us—it'll fortify you and bring you back to life. Where you can find it in NYC: For a good bowl of haejangguk in the city, check out Shilla in Koreatown.
Pho

Place of origin: Vietnam What it is: Pho is a hearty soup filled with beef, noodles, lime, basil, and bean sprouts. The soup often contains spicy ingredients like Sriracha and jalepeños, too. As Caveday: The Hunt for the Best Hangover Cure reports, pho is an effective hangover cure because it’s primarily made up of liquid broth, which helps to fight dehydration, and beef, which is protein-rich. The Vietnamese dish has become a hangover cure all over the world—probably because it’s delicious, healthy, and it’s easy to pronounce it’s monosyllabic name, even with limit brain function. That is, until you realize it's pronounced "fuh." Whatever. Where you can find it in NYC: To get your pho fix as early as 10:30 am try out Pho Grand on the Lower East Side. Don’t worry—they deliver, too.
Jassa

Place of origin: Senegal What it is: In Senegal, the traditional dish to kick a massive hangover is jassa (or yassa), which is a citrusy chicken stew. Most recipes for poulet yassa, like this one from Saveur, emphasize the importance of letting the chicken marinade in a variety of spices before cooking the yassa. The spiciness is what’s going to pep you up and drive away the toxins from a night of drinking away. Where you can find it in NYC: To get this Senegalese hangover remedy in the city, try the Ponty Bistro.
Fricasé

Place of origin: Bolivia What it is: Fricasé is the pork stew Bolivians use to bounce back from a brutal hangover; the dish also goes by the name levanta muertos, which means "raising from the dead." Made with pork, cumin, garlic, and potato, this stew follows the pattern of hearty and spicy dishes that will help shock you back to life. Where you can find it in NYC: For an authentic Bolivian rendition of fricasé, try Mi Bolivia in Sunnyside, Queens.
Kokoreç

Place of origin: Turkey What it is: According to Istanbul Eats, kokoreç is essentially grilled sheep intestines, chopped up with tomatoes and peppers. The meat is roasted on a skewer, á la gyro meat, and is a popular street food in Turkey (many use kokoreç as a sandwich filling). As a hangover food, there’s just something about eating those animal intestines that chases away the toxins of alcohol. Plus, kokoreç has all the dopamine-inducing grease of good ol’ mac and cheese. Where you can find it in NYC: Get this curative street food at Sip Sak in Midtown East.
Shijimi Miso Soup

Place of origin: Japan What it is: The Japanese answer to hangovers is shijimi clams. Accordind to Oh My Omiyage, these clams contain ornithine, which is an amino acid that helps to remove liver toxins and helps liver function. But don’t concern your dehydrated mind with all that—just enjoy a great, warm miso soup and let those clams do the work for you. Where you can find it in NYC: You can order a potent instant shijimi soup online from Nagatanien, but for a clam miso soup in the city, try Mishima.
Tiger Toast

Place of origin: Australia What it is: This Australian hangover grilled cheese puts regular grilled cheese to shame with its stripes of cheese and, of course, Vegemite, as Fuss Free Cooking demonstrates. The high yeast content of Vegemite, plus the butter and gooey cheese on the toast, will work together to chase away that hangover. Plus, it has a cool tiger pattern to distract from your exhaustion. When toast just isn’t going to cut it, Australians also turn to a “fry up” (very similar to an English breakfast) and douse it with barbecue sauce. Where you can find it in NYC: Stock up on Vegemite from The Sweet Life in Chinatown for those hangovers-to-come.
Rassol

Place of origin: Russia What it is: When Russians are faced with a hangover, they reach for rassol, a pungent juice that comes from pickled sauerkraut and helps to replenish electrolytes and fluids lost from over-imbibing. According to this Food 52 recipe, rassol is often made into a soup, rassolnik, that adds in beef, barley, and herbs to play down the pickle-y flavor. Where you can find it in NYC: Check out Cherry Hill Market or Brighton Bazaar to get all the authentic ingredients for an easy DIY rassolnik.

Hangover Foods From Around the World

English Breakfast

Menudo

Haejangguk

Pho

Jassa

Fricasé

Kokoreç

Shijimi Miso Soup

Tiger Toast

Rassol

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