Hangover soups, such as menudo and patsa, are believed to provide vital nutrients and electrolytes lost during binge drinking, as well as distracting the digestive system with hot peppers. Tripe is a common ingredient in many hangover soups, with cow and sheep tripe being used in different variations. Other options include onion soup, pumpkin-and-chicken mix, vegetable stock, zurek, and miso soup.
The day after drinking too much alcohol, a common reflex is to take aspirin and drink extra water to combat the effects of dehydration. However, several hangover soups are believed to go beyond simple rehydration and blood thinning. These soups supply some of the vital nutrients and electrolytes you lost during your binge, while often providing a distracting kick to your digestive system through the use of hot peppers or other heat enhancers. Depending on where you live and what culture influences your life the most, you may already be confident in some of these hangover cures. Menudo, patsa, haejangguk and zurek are all different variations on hangover soups.
In the Western Hemisphere, tripe – the lining of a cow’s stomach – figures prominently in several countries’ hangover soups. Mexico has the menudo, which combines tripe with two types of chiles, chili sauce, lemon juice, oregano, and onions. In Puerto Rico, this soup is called mondongo and often includes chopped vegetables with starchy qualities such as potatoes, beats, or carrots. These vegetables are blamed for excess alcohol intake which could still pollute the system. El Salvadorans call their hangover sopa de patas tripe, and the vegetables it uses are cabbage, plantains, squash, corn, and yucca, a dense type of potato.
However, cows aren’t the only supplier of tripe. Across the Atlantic Ocean, sheep tripe is used in some traditional hangover cures. Greece has patsa, which combines coating with an acidic element from lemon juice or vinegar. Iskembe corbasi is a Turkish cream-based soup with sheep tripe which is recommended for consumption in the evening before hangovers also take hold.
The spice – mild or fierce – figures prominently in many hangover soups. This provides a distraction for the system but also speeds up the digestive process. Koreans drink the proud haejangguk, which is a stock made of cow bones and blood, cabbage and sprouts that they throw black pepper, chili powder and other heat enhancers into the mix.
However, adding animal parts or excessive spice aren’t the only options for hangover soups. A milder alternative is onion soup, sold in France. Other cooks swear by a simple pumpkin-and-chicken mix or vegetable stock. Russians are familiar with zurek, a soup with a rye base that’s often referred to as white borscht soup and is routinely served to wedding guests so that fond memories aren’t replaced with sour headaches the next morning. Miso soup from Japan, a simple broth of noodles and onions, is also hailed as a soothing hangover soup that will gently replenish some nutrients lost in battling all that booze.
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