Yes, we all know the best way to prevent a hangover is to not drink excessively. But what if it’s too late for that? What should you do if last night was just too big a night? Maybe you’re laying in bed, Googling “best hangover cures”, feeling like death, and trying desperately not to throw up.
Well, you’re in luck! I’ve teamed up with a bunch of my blogger friends to bring you these suggestions for how to cure a hangover — sourced from all over the globe!
Some are crazy, and some sound so gross I think I’d rather just stay hungover, but if you feel like you’re on the brink of death, you might be willing to try just about anything!
The German Hangover Cure
Recommended by: Maria of Maria Abroad
Maybe it’s this food’s funny name that inspires you to forget your lingering frontal lobe headache after a night out with one too many.
Maybe it’s the perfect combination of salty-sour goodness on a bun that soaks up the leftover booze in your stomach.
I am not sure why, but eating Rollmops is the go-to hangover remedy in Germany, especially in the north of the country. In Hamburg for example, you can see a pilgrimage of drunk people headed straight from the Reeperbahn (Hamburg’s party area) to the fish market that opens at 5 AM to get their Rollmops fix. But what exactly are Rollmops?
Back in the day, before there was a refrigerator in every kitchen, salting and pickling were among the best ways to preserve food. Rollmops combine these two preserving methods.
The dish is salted Herring rolled around a pickle or onion, secured with a toothpick and then pickled in a glass or clay pot. If you want, you can store this concoction for a long time so you have it on hand for hangover emergencies.
How do you eat Rollmops? You can pop one in your mouth as is, or put a few on a fresh, flakey bread roll and eat it like a sandwich. If you are brave enough, you can wash it down with a sip of pickling juices from the Rollmops jar. Enjoy!
Bulgaria’s Best Hangover Cures
Recommended by: Bilyana, Owl Over The World
If you’re visiting Bulgaria and have stumbled across this post after too many rakias, don’t worry – we have a cure to help the wretched headache you’re in for tomorrow!
I’m not too familiar with what people do in other countries, but I do know that some are surprised by our methods. Here are a few common Bulgarian hangover cures:
Tripe soup – aka Shkembe chorba is the king of hangover cures.
The soup is made from cattle stomach. But don’t worry, if that sounds gross to you, you can skip the meat and only have the broth. The tripe soup is always served with garlic and hot chili pepper (these two are served separately so you can flavor to taste). The tripe soup also goes best with beer. Don’t be surprised when you see Bulgarians eating shkembe chorba and drinking beer after a night out.
Another common Bulgarian hangover cure is sour cabbage juice. This drink can be found in people’s basements during the winter. Ayran is another beverage we drink to cure our hangover. The drink is made from yogurt, water, and salt. Trust me, it works!
The English Breakfast- a Classic Hangover Cure
Recommended by Megsy of Food Fun Travel
The king of hangover cures is the one and only full English breakfast, commonly called a “fry up”.
After a heavy night out on the town, the only way to appease that raging hangover is to feed it fried eggs (preferably 2), bacon, sausage, grilled tomato, sautéed mushrooms, hash browns and (of course) baked beans! If you like, you can throw on a couple pieces of toast to mop up all the eggy mess left over at the end of your feast.
This hangover cure has been around for hundreds of years, in fact, the national dish dates clear back to the 13th century, when it was an Anglo-Saxon tradition of hospitality to provide generous breakfasts for visiting friends, relatives and neighbors.
Why is the fry-up such a great hangover cure? Because it’s jam packed full of the protein, vitamins, and minerals you need to recover. The hearty serving of fat doesn’t hurt either!
All of this works together to make you feel better sooner and ready for another night on the town! In fact, an English egg company did some research into this hangover cure and found that more than a third of locals who ate a full English breakfast recovered from their hangover in less than three hours. This was much better than the 19% who took painkillers and 3% who stayed in bed all day.
What more proof do you need…it works!
How to Get Rid of A Hangover in Korea
Recommended by: Sandra of The Smarter Writer
You’ve had a big night out. And now, you’re paying for it. Head pounding. Upset stomach. All day. By the time the evening comes, you’re still feeling queasy. You want to stay in bed, stick close to the bathroom and watch Netflix as you moan about why you had the 7th, 8th and 9th drinks last night. Or maybe you had 10 — things got a bit hazy after #8, so you’re not just how many you had. But your banking app tells you there were more. So does your stomach.
Then you remember… samgyetang, or Korean ginseng chicken soup– Korea’s miraculous hangover cure.
You drag your sorry self to a restaurant that serves nothing but samgyetang – there’s at least one in every Korean village. You eat the delicious hotpot of chicken soup. It has a whole small chicken stuffed with rice and a jujube and best of all, a stick of ginseng. The ginseng tastes bitter, but you know it will be worth the effort. You chew it without breathing through your nose and swallow as quickly as you can.
Within minutes, you feel amazing. Your headache is gone (or maybe the Nurofen you took before heading out kicked in) and you don’t feel any nausea. You decide you’re ready to do it all over again. Pass the Soju, please!
The Swedish Solution
Recommended by: Alex from The Swedish Nomad
Bakis is a Swedish hangover cure. I might be wrong, but I haven’t seen anything like it abroad. Basically, it’s a rehydration solution full of minerals, but it’s much better than a regular rehydration solution. Bakis is also easy to carry-along. It’s sold in a tube with circular pills that you dissolve in water.
Drink it before you go to bed after you’ve been out partying or drinking alcohol, and when you wake up, you won’t be dehydrated or lack vital minerals. It’s a great way to prevent hangovers, and it also works pretty well if you drink it the next day when you wake up, even if you forget to drink it before you go to bed.
All in all, this product should definitely be sold worldwide. It’s the hangover cure that has worked the best for me both while traveling and when I’m back home in Sweden.
How They Cure Hangovers in North Carolina
Recommended by: Carl of NC Tripping
Hangovers are rough in North Carolina, and it’s all thanks to the abundance of craft breweries and delicious spirit-filled drinks that make the rounds at many restaurants and bars.
One of the best ways to combat the your hangover after imbibing too much in North Carolina is to go with a chicken biscuit. You can find them at any Bojangles or Biscuitville (Spicy Chicken & Honey FTW!), but if you want the best, go local.
We found one great example in Downtown Winston-Salem, at Krankies Coffee, a small batch roaster and café. While many people come for the coffee — which is great any day of the week — their weekend brunch menu is worth a visit. Order a chicken biscuit with Texas Pete and get ready for that hangover to melt away.
Honestly, having a little spice on top completes the meal. I’m sure the biscuit is good without the added kick, but why go without it?
Order a Bloody Mary!
Recommended by: Danny of Coddiwomp
Said to have first graced the palate of party-goers in 1920s Paris, the Bloody Mary cocktail has become a favorite hangover cure drink in the UK and many other parts of the world!
Aged as the recipe is, a Bloody Mary remains something of an acquired taste.
To make one, take vodka, tomato juice, add a splash of Lea & Perrins (a popular anchovy based sauce that’s otherwise known as ‘Worcestershire sauce’ in the UK), and then season to taste with salt and pepper. You’re done: one Bloody Mary!
Different people and bars offer variations on this recipe. They may add a celery stick garnish or opt for alternative spices. But the base of vodka and tomato juice remains the same. Unless, that is, you opt for a ‘Virgin Bloody Mary’, which is everything minus the alcohol.
Love it or hate it, however you decide to drink it, this cocktail is sure to help out with those hated hungover mornings! Go on, give it a shot!
What Cures a Hangover in Northern Thailand
Recommended by Allan of Live Less Ordinary
My personal travel obsession is weird foods and alcohols, so it is only fitting that I have tried and tested a few cures for the many hangovers I’ve suffered. And the best to date (not counting ‘Hair of the Dog’) is the spicy soups of Thailand, which I eat pretty much daily when based in rural Isaan.
Let’s consider what I had this morning. I woke up following a night of rum, gin, Smirnoff and beer. Of course, I followed my tried and tested routine. I started early with a strong black coffee and a freshly squeezed lime and honey hot drink.
Then I moved on to my Tom Saap soup, an Isaan style Pork bone soup laced with lots of chillies, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. This soup is a lot like the better known ‘Tom Yum’ hot and sour soup of Thailand, and both do the same job. So I like to think of eating this as showering my insides, an internal colon cleanse that leaves me fresh and fit for the day to come.
Although I did go back to bed for a short nap. It was still quite early.
Indian Hangover Treatment
Recommended by Somnath of Travel Crusade
Bansh Pora mutton is a traditional Indian dish only available in select restaurants. The dish, with it’s smoky and aromatic flavor, is made of boneless herb marinated mutton stuffed inside a bamboo shoot and roasted in the tandoor over. The mutton is served inside the bamboo shoot, tribal style.
Photo Credit: Santa’s Fantasea
This dish is popular in India among non-vegetarian diners and has been introduced in top hangover cafes and restaurants all around the country. it’s unique combination of flavors is a sure way to cure a hangover fast!
Hangover Cure Drinks From Russia
Recommended by: Liza of Trips Get
If you’re hungover in Russia, you might think twice before trying Russia’s traditional hangover cures: kefir (soured milk) and pickle juice.
These are two separate remedies, and it’s better not to combine them (otherwise, you might have to spend more time in the bathroom, not less), however, they both work as great cures for the hangover.
As a Russian, I can say that while these hangover cure drinks taste pretty good to us, very few foreigners actually like sour milk or would drink pickle brine.
If you don’t want to try these, try not to complain to your Russian friends — they might make you try these hangover remedies!
How to Get Over a Hangover In South Korea
Recommended by: Marie of Be Marie Korea
Haejang-guk (해장국) or hangover soup, is commonly eaten in South Korea after a heavy night of drinking. The dish is usually made with cabbage and meat in a beef broth. Depending on the variety, it can contain sliced ox blood pudding, blood sausage or other types of intestines.
The soup dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty (918 – 1392), one of Korea’s first dynasties. But back then, it was made with slightly different ingredients. The dish was not only eaten by commoners but also high-ranking officials working for the royal palace.
You can find the soup in restaurants all over the country or for sale in traditional markets, like Gwangjang Market in Seoul. The soup costs around 8000 Korean wond (8 dollars).
How the Icelandic Cure a Hangover Fast
Recommended by: Kris of Nomad by Trade
If you find yourself hungover in the Nordic capital city, there’s a Reykjavik restaurant you must try — Prikið Kaffihuis. With or without a splitting headache, their Hangover Killer breakfast is delicious.
Featuring a massive ham, cheese, tomato, and bacon sandwich with garlic sauce and topped with a fried egg, a pile of steaming hot fries, and a boozy milkshake made with Jack Daniel’s whiskey, espresso, and caramel sauce named after Bruce Willis, it’s exactly the hangover remedy you’ll need to feel human again.
Whether you’re hungover or just hungry, the dish is absolute perfection. And located right in the historic city center of Reykjavik, you couldn’t ask for a better setting for a meal like this. Prikið also comes alive as a bar at night, so it may well be both the cause of and cure to your hangover.
The Ecuadorian Hangover Remedy
Recommended by: Lisa of TheHotFlashPacker
The best way to cure a hangover in Ecuador is fish ceviche: the perfect mix of raw fish, lots of lime juice, cilantro, tomatoes, pepper, and salt to taste.
Photo Credit: Peruano
Unlike some of the other ceviche dishes in Latin America, this one is much lighter on ketchup and tomatoes, although some tomato juice is typically included.
This ceviche is served with fried plantains, roasted corn kernels, and popcorn. The best ceviche restaurants are on the coast, but they can be found in the city as well. My favorite was one tucked away a couple blocks from the Quito Airport.
Ecuador also has the best word for hangover… chuchaqui (pronounced chew-cha-key). I admit, I’ve uttered the phrase “Estoy chuchaqui” a time or two!
The Sure Fire Scottish Hangover Cure Drink
Recommended by: James of This Travel Guide
While Scotland is known for its whisky, few people know Scotland has also concocted an antidote for the inevitable hangover that follows.
Irn Bru, Scotland’s other drink, contains caffeine, quinine, copious amounts of sugar, and the controversial additive Sunset Yellow FCF. Combined, these ingredients make for one of the best hangover cure drinks in the world.
Unfortunately, getting your hands on this miracle worker is becoming increasingly difficult. Irn Bru’s normal recipe has long been banned in the US due to the Sunset Yellow. In the UK, health concerns and taxes on high sugar products have also forced producers to change the recipe. The new recipe sadly lacks the high sugar content, a key component for hangover treatment.
But in Scotland, it’s still possible to find original recipe Irn Bru. Many pubs and shops advertise they still have “the good stuff,” and you’ll also find it for sale on eBay and other places online. Given that both the UK and US are trying to ban the stuff, it’s probably better not to drink it regularly.
If you do have a hangover, though, there are few things better at getting the job done.
The Colombian Hangover Cure
Recommended by: Danielle of Two For the World
You could be forgiven for feeling a sense of trepidation at the thought of a soup nicknamed ‘levanta muertos’: raiser of the dead, especially if you’re suffering the stomach-churning after-effects of a big night out.
Fear not! Caldo de Costilla, the Colombian breakfast soup of choice, will gently coax you back to the land of the living — and leave you hankering for more.
Caldo de Costilla is a delicious beef rib broth. It’s an Andean speciality, a simple stew of beef ribs boiled with potatoes, onion, garlic, sometimes cumin or ginger, and lashings of coriander.
That’s all there is to it, but after the ingredients work their flavor-infusing magic on the stove top, a steaming bowl for breakfast is a fail-safe way to cure a hangover. And unlike other hangover treatments, it’s so good it doesn’t matter what state you’re in.
For Colombians, Caldo de Costilla is an essential kickstart after a night on the town. You’ll find restaurants in places like Bogotá serving the soup into the wee hours to cater for bar-hoppers seeking a nocturnal recharge. Step it up (if your excesses allow) and enjoy this tasty reviver like the locals, with sides of arepa and hot chocolate. Chao hangover!
The Georgian Hangover Cure Drink
Recommended by: Kay from Jetfarer
You’ll see this hangover treatment everywhere in Georgia (the country, not the state), from the fanciest restaurants to the underground hole-in-the-wall convenience stores. To many, it’s arguably a staple of Georgian cuisine and a part of daily life. It comes in glass bottles, plastic bottles, and if you’re lucky, directly from the mountains of Georgia. No, it’s not fairy dust — it’s Borjomi.
Borjomi is naturally carbonated beverage sourced from glacial springs that originate high in the mountains of Georgia. People have been gathering water from these rural springs for over 1,000 years, but Russians commercialized the stuff in the 1800s. Today, tourists from around the world visit the original Borjomi springs to see where their beloved drink comes from. With a huge legacy of drinking on both the Georgian (wine) and Russian (vodka) sides, it’s no wonder people from both countries can’t live without Borjomi water as their go-to hangover remedy.
Just so we’re clear, Borjomi is simply sparkling mineral water. We all know plain old water works wonders for hangovers. Borjomi is no exception. However, the fact that people travel to Georgia just to see the spring that produces Borjomi water says a lot about how adored it is. If you ever find yourself having a rough morning after too much Georgian wine, do as the Georgians do and grab a bottle of Borjomi.
How the Vietnamese Recover After a Big Night Out
Recommended by: Emily of Wander-Lush
Whether you’re pegging your hangover on a bia hoi binge or too much rice wine, a big bowl of phở (noodle soup) is the perfect Vietnamese breakfast for the morning after.
Good phở is all about the salty, life-affirming broth. Cooked low and slow with beef bones and inflected with aromatics, in your hungover state, you will almost feel like the broth is body temperature and pH-balanced — it goes down that smooth.There’s enough sodium in there to temper your headache, and there’s also a hit of chili and lime juice to kick you back into gear. Light rice noodles, slivers of beef (bò) or chicken (gà) and fresh herbs are easy to stomach. Soak it up with a bánh dầu chéo quẩy (a deep-fried dough stick) if you dare.
Hanoi has a few famous joints — but the best phở is the kind you can just roll out of bed and into a plastic chair for. Note that many stalls do an early morning trade before closing for a few hours at around 10am. If you’re feeling fiendish, Nê Cocktail Bar in Hanoi’s Old Quarter serves the ultimate hair of the dog: a ‘phở cocktail’ made with gin, Cointreau, cinnamon, anise and cardamom.
The Tropical Cure
Recommended by: Christine of Christine Abroad
When I’m hungover in a tropical country (like Thailand for example), I always make sure to drink a fresh coconut before going to bed and the day after the party.
The water inside a fresh coconut is loaded with sodium, potassium, sugar and electrolytes. Coconut water will give your body what it’s lacking and hydrate you during your hangover.
Some say coconut water cures hangovers, and others say it doesn’t. I get the worst hangovers, and coconut water is the only thing that works for me when I party in tropical countries. It’s fresh, sweet (but not too sweet), and really satisfies your thirst — and lets not forget to mention that it’s super yummy as well!
Another Ecuadorian Hangover Solution
Recommended by: Ayngelina of Bacon is Magic
Soup for breakfast is common in South East Asia, but most don’t realize it’s also a staple of Ecuadorian food. Encebollado is one of Ecuador’s national dishes, and many Ecuadorians claim this hearty soup is the best way to cure a hangover.
Encebollado is a fish soup filled to the brim with pickled onions. I know the idea of pickled onions for breakfast may sound a bit strange, but it is exactly what you need the next morning when your stomach is feeling kind of queasy.
The soup is usually made with healthy albacore tuna, but you may also find it with other local fish or seafood depending on the season or what is fresh. It’s most commonly served with fried plantain chips and costs $1-2 depending on where you go.
Think of it as Ecuador’s answer to comforting chicken noodle soup – except much, much tastier. If anything, it’s the only upside to having a hangover.
Hair of the Dog — the American Hangover Remedy
As someone from the states, the number one way we US-natives cure a hangover fast is with the “hair of the dog“. In other words, we just keep drinking!
Hair of the dog, or “a hair of the dog that bit you”, is a saying that comes from an old method for treating rabies, where you’d apply hairs from the rabid dog that bit you on the wound.
Literally — you’re adding a bit of what’s trying to kill you to stop death. See how it works for yourself.
But when your headache fades, does that actually your hangover is cured, or are you just drunk again? Who knows — but if you no longer feel like you’re at death’s door, does it matter?
If you went all in on the hard stuff the night before (shots, etc.), start with a morning beer. No need to jump right back in the deep end. A morning cold one should sort you right out, at least until it’s time for happy hour!
Have you tried any of these hangover cures before? If so, what works and what doesn’t? Let me know in the comments section below!
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Travel writer and owner of the blog. My work has been featured on Fodors, Eater.com, International Living, and Great Escape Publishing, among many others. My story? Nearly six years ago, I left my job at an Oklahoma City law firm and embarked on a journey around the world. At the time, I thought I would only be gone for 6 months, but the more I traveled, the longer my bucket list became. Flashpacker describes how I travel. Rather than traveling as the normal world wise backpacker and staying in hostel dorms, I prefer a more comfortable experience, and typically stay in private rooms, take Ubers instead of taxis, and now use a suitcase instead of a backpack. Foodie, on the other hand, describes one of the key reasons why I travel. I love to pick a central “base camp” and then explore the surrounding area, really immersing myself in the culture and interacting with the people, and enjoying and exploring the food of an area is an essential part of this experience.
Ana Moris
Friday 10th of May 2019
Nice blog!! Very tasty anti hangover remedies!!
Smiti
Tuesday 17th of July 2018
I really enjoyed this post! I totally recall a number of these dishes after various night outs :)
Nathan
Wednesday 18th of July 2018
haha nice- did any of them work better than the others?
Erika Ann
Tuesday 17th of July 2018
This hangover guide of yours is the best! The English breakfast is definitely the best!
Fuji Kreider
Tuesday 3rd of July 2018
Great! Don't forget your Albanian Paci Koke!
Ayngelina
Monday 2nd of July 2018
Thanks so much for including my Ecuadorian fish soup. This is such a fun compilation but wow some of these are hard core!
Nathan
Monday 9th of July 2018
Thanks for contributing! Yes, some of them I think I would rather just stay hungover lol