Beyond hair of the dog

Hangover remedies for Halloween through NYE

The last few months of every year are a marathon of revelry. Even the modest are susceptible to nights of over-indulgence. Halloween marks the start, with costumed attendees drinking various potions. A few princesses may end the night with only one shoe. Fortunately (or, maybe not), the next mile marker, Thanksgiving, is more family-centric. Best case scenario—you nurse a food coma and not a hangover. By December, you’ve recovered and are ready for the finish line: the double whammy of Christmas and New Year’s. It’s no wonder “dry January” has risen in popularity.

Records indicate that man has been consuming alcohol for around 9,000 years, and hangover remedies date back to at least the second century. For reasons unknown, hangover remedies historically included less than appetizing ingredients, like ground swallow beaks, roasted goat lungs, fried canaries, dust from the skull of a hanged person, and eel blood. One modern recipe, the prairie oyster (raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, tomato juice, vinegar, hot sauce, salt and ground black pepper), continues the tradition of vile flavors.

Other solutions are more about process than panacea. “Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear,” or “Beer before whiskey, always risky”—depending on who you ask. Others suggest one glass of water to be consumed for every drink, or a full meal before the night begins.

Regardless of your method, alcohol is a toxin. Your liver requires energy to remove toxins, so remedies that aid this process are the most beneficial. Step one should be to rehydrate and replenish the nutrients that alcohol depletes from your system. Water, sports drinks, and B-vitamins all help.

Next comes food. The simplest option is honey toast. The fructose in honey helps your body break down the hangover-inducing acetaldehyde, a byproduct of your body breaking down alcohol. The toast because honey needs a vehicle. And it’s easy—you’re hungover, remember?

Many remedies include cabbage, which contains enzymes that assist the liver in detoxing. One old recipe calls for two ounces of white cabbage, two ounces of pomegranate juice, and one ounce of vinegar, boiled into a syrup. Mmm.

I suggest a Korean soup called ppyeo-haejangguk, or “hangover soup.” This rich soup contains cabbage, fresh herbs and spices, and an ox bone broth.

Ox Bone Hangover Soup

(Ppyeo-haejangguk)

Recipe adapted from maangchi.com

• 6 cups ox bone or beef broth
• 2 pounds cabbage
• 6 quarts water
• ¼ cup Korean fermented soybean paste (doenjang)
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 green chili peppers, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 green onions, chopped
• Korean hot pepper flakes (Gochu-garu), optional

1. Boil cabbage in a large pot of water for 5 minutes, then strain and blanch. Chop into pieces.
2. Fill a large pot with bone broth and add cabbage, soybean paste, garlic, green chili pepper, and fish sauce. Cook for 20 minutes on medium high heat.

Serve garnished with green onions and pepper flakes.