Welcome to National Hangover Day, where the remnants of last night’s revelry cling to your head like a persistent party crasher. As you gingerly navigate the treacherous terrain of New Year’s Day, fear not – we’ve enlisted the help of some top chefs to guide you through the fog with their kitchen sorcery.
First up, we have Jun Tanaka, a chef who believes in the magical powers of pickled cucumber juice. Forget hair of the dog – it’s time for hair of the brine! If the idea of sipping cucumber elixir doesn’t tickle your fancy, Amy Poon has a remedy straight from the Ching dynasty. Enter Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa, the Chinese magic medicine, a concoction of fritillary bulb, loquat leaf, and other mysterious herbs. Science be damned – it just works!
Not to be outdone, James Knappett takes us on a crunchy journey, recommending a snack that involves Walkers ready salted crisps, pickled eggs, and a symphony of flavours that’ll make your taste buds do a conga line.
And if you’re seeking comfort in a bowl, look no further than Andy Oliver’s Thai rice soup, a soothing symphony of flavours to nurse your delicate constitution back to health.
There’s more. We’ve got some chef-approved hangover cure recipes that will make you question why you ever settled for a greasy fry-up. From traditional British baked beans with a soy sauce twist to a ’nduja, mozzarella, and honey toasted sandwich, these dishes promise to elevate your National Hangover Day to new culinary heights.
Cheers to a year of fewer headaches and more flavourful recoveries.
Chef’s share their hangover tips
Jun Tanaka, chef patron of The Ninth
The juice from pickled cucumbers is great for a hangover. I love pickles so I always have a jar or two in the larder. Once I finish eating them, I leave the jar with the juice in the fridge. It’s best served chilled. Green tea with umeboshi (salted plum) also helps with a sore head.
Amy Poon, Poon’s London and Poon’s Wontoneria
Created by a Chinese physician in the Ching dynasty as a remedy for coughs, Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa is a magical cure-all. Available in all Chinese supermarkets and on Amazon, Pei Pa Koa is a blend of herbal ingredients including fritillary bulb, loquat leaf, pomelo peel, fresh ginger, licorice root and menthol, in a syrup and honey base.
We call it Chinese magic medicine. It has anti-inflammatory properties; I don't know the science behind how or why it works, but it does soothe a tender head and body.
I usually dilute a heaped tablespoon in a mug of hot water. It also doesn't taste unpleasant like a lot of Chinese medicine and it works!
James Knappett, chef patron of Kitchen Table
For a quick snack, I like to take a bag of Walkers ready salted, and add in a pickled egg. The trick is to take a bite of the egg first, before dipping it in the crisps. When the pickle juice combines with the saltiness of the crisps, it's quite something.
Andy Oliver, co-founder of som saa and Kolae
I'm a big fan of Thai rice soup or khao dtom when I'm feeling a little worse for wear. It's essentially cooked rice simmered in a light stock (or even water), seasoned with soy and white pepper, and then adorned with all sorts of good things - like fried garlic, roasted chilli powder, finely sliced spring onions, ginger etc.
Optional but very appropriate additions include soft cooked egg, or some left over festive roast meat. It's a bowl of food and a start to your day that feels invigorating, good for you and comforting all at the same time.
Hangover recipes
Traditional British baked beans with soy sauce and tomatoes
Recipe by: Amy Poon, Poon’s London and Poon’s Wontoneria
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large golden onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tbsp dark brown sugar
1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp Poon’s soy sauce
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 x 400g tins chopped plum tomatoes
2 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp of Worcestershire sauce, plus extra, to taste
Toast, to serve
Fried eggs, to serve
Vegetarians and vegans can drop the worcestershire sauce or replace it with Henderson’s Relish for a meat free version
Method:
Warm the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the onions. Once you can hear them sizzling, add the garlic and a big pinch of salt and cook for a further 6-8 minutes until they have begun to soften.
Add the sugar, vinegar, soy and paprika to the pan and after a minute or so, once they’ve reduced, add the tomatoes, beans, Worcestershire sauce, half a tin of water and some salt and pepper and leave to simmer for 20 minutes until slightly reduced. Check the seasoning and serve with toast and eggs.
Macaroni chilli oil cheese with anchovy breadcrumbs
Use leftover cheese for this, anything a little rich and tangy works.
Recipe by: Amy Poon, Poon’s London and Poon’s Wontoneria
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
350g macaroni
25g butter
4 tbsp Poon’s extraordinary chilli oil
4 tbsp plain flour
600ml whole milk
175g gruyere, comte, mature cheddar or Lancashire, or a mixture
100g grated Parmesan
Breadcrumbs
2 tbsp olive oil
4 anchovies (optional for vegetarians)
50g dry breadcrumbs
Olive oil, to drizzle
Method:
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6. Bring a big pan of salted water to the boil and cook the macaroni for 2 minutes less than stated on the pack minutes, then drain and run under cold water to cool off.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of the chilli oil, then the flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, then slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly until it comes to a simmer and begins to thicken. Turn the heat down to low and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Take off the heat, add the gruyere and half the Parmesan and stir until you have a smooth, luscious sauce. Season to taste.
Combine the warm sauce with the pasta, adding a splash of boiling water if it needs loosening. Transfer to a baking dish.
To make the breadcrumbs, warm the olive oil and the remaining tablespoon of chilli oil in a frying pan and add the anchovies. Cook, crushing them into the oil until they break down, then stir in the breadcrumbs so they are evenly coated. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni, followed by the remaining 50g of Parmesan. Place in the oven for 25 minutes until golden, bubbling and delicious.
Leftover chicken and chilli vinegar noodle salad
You can buy the crispy shallots. Prawns instead of chicken would also be brilliant in this.
Recipe by: Amy Poon, Poon’s London and Poon’s Wontoneria
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
200ml sunflower oil, for frying
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced
For the dressing:
4 tbsp Poon’s chilli vinegar
2 tsp fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime
½ tsp caster sugar
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped or grated
For the salad:
90g Loukou glass noodles, or other vermicelli noodles
½ small head hispi cabbage, finely shredded
2 carrots, peeled and finely shredded
½ red pepper, deseeded and julienned
½ small red onion, thinly sliced
1 mild red chilli, finely sliced
A small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
½ small bunch of mint, roughly chopped
Meat from ½ cooked chicken or 2 cooked breasts, shredded
6 tbsp salted roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
Method:
Start by making the shallots. Set a sieve over a bowl and line a tray with kitchen paper. Combine the oil and shallots in a small pan and place over a medium-high heat. The oil should start bubbling after 1-2 minutes, then start stirring often for another 10 minutes until they turn golden, stopping before they turn dark golden. Immediately strain through the sieve, and drain the shallots on the kitchen paper. They’ll get crispier as they cool. Reserve the flavoursome oil for another dish.
Next to make the dressing, combine all the ingredients and put to one side.
To make the noodles, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Cook the noodles for 2-3 minutes until they turn translucent, then scoop out and rinse under cold water until completely cool.
Place the noodles in a salad bowl along with the rest of the salad ingredients (except for the peanuts) and pour over the dressing. Mix well with your hands, season a little and transfer to a platter or big plate.
Season the shallots with salt, then scatter over the salad alongside the roasted peanuts and serve.
’Nduja, mozzarella and honey toasted sandwich
Here we use three kitchen staples to create an incredibly comforting dish.
Recipe by: Stevie Parle, Pastaio
Serves: 1
Ingredients:
15g butter
30ml olive oil
10g honey
60g mozzarella
40g ’nduja
2 slices white tin loaf
Method:
Evenly spread the ‘Nduja across one slice of bread. Cut the mozzarella into pieces and layer on top of the ‘Nduja. Drizzle the honey over this and then complete the sandwich by placing the second slice of bread on top.
Warm the oil and butter in a pan on medium heat until the butter starts foaming then place the sandwich in the pan. Flip the sandwich over when the bread starts to brown, frying the other side until both are evenly golden brown.
Transfer to a plate and slice in half before serving.
Drunken flat noodles (sen yai pad khee mao)
Drunken Flat Noodles is a dish we would eat accompanied by a bottle of Thai whisky. As these noodles are traditionally served very hot and spicy, the whisky would be sipped quite quickly and sooner or later, we’d all be inebriated, so I guess this dish does what it says on the tin.
Recipe by: Saiphin Moore, Rosa’s Thai
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
2 red bird’s eyes chillies
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
150g (5 ½ oz) fresh flat rice noodles
125g (4 ½ oz) firm tofu, cut into large chunks
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
30g (1 oz) green beans, cut into 2.5cm (1 inch pieces)
30g (1 oz) spring greens, shredded
20g ( ¾ oz) baby sweetcorn, quartered lengthwise
20g ( ¾ oz) long red chillies, finely sliced
1 handful holy basil leaves
Method:
Using a pestle and mortar, pound together the chillies and garlic to form a rough paste.
Heat the oil in a wok set over a high heat. Add the garlic and chilli mixture and stir fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the flat noodles to the pan and stir-fry for 1 minute, until soft.
Stir in the tofu, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and sugar and mix well to combine.
Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then add the green beans, sweetcorn, sliced chillies and holy basil to the wok. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables are just cooked through.
Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Chicken pot pie
There are some days that just call for chicken pot pie. Some of my best memories are of my mother making this for me after I’d had a rough day. This pot pie is the ultimate winter comfort food but when we took it off our summer menu it almost caused a riot. Ideally, it should be made from scratch, so be prepared to wait about 30 minutes.
Recipe by: Natasha Sideris, founder and CEO of tashas
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
8 chicken breasts, about 1kg
24 button mushrooms, about 340g
4 spring onions, sliced finely
4 tbsp chives, finely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tsp fresh thyme
125ml white wine
2 tsp chicken stock powder
375ml cream
40g butter, cut into 4 cubes
1 tsp flour
1 egg, beaten
2 sheets puff pastry
Method:
Pre heat the oven to 180C.
Cut the chicken breasts into bite size cubes and the mushrooms into quarters. Slice the spring onion finely and chop the chives.
In a large saucepan, heat half the olive oil to smoking hot and quickly sauté the chicken. Season with salt and pepper and the thyme. When the chicken is sealed all over and begins to colour, remove from the pan and set aside. Add a little more olive oil to the pan and sauté the mushrooms and spring onions until the mushrooms are nicely browned. Return the chicken to the pan with the wine and stock. Boil until the wine has reduced by half, then add the cream.
Toss the cubes of butter in a little flour and stir them into the cream sauce. Cook the sauce on a high heat for about 5 minutes or until it has thickened. The sauce should cover the back of a spoon. Take care not to thicken it too much or your pie will be dry.
Add the chives and season to taste Pour the mixture into a large pie dish or 4 small ones. Beat the egg for the egg wash. Cut the pastry and cover the pies, pressing the edges down with a fork. Egg wash the pastry and bake until the pastry has puffed and turned golden brown. Smaller pies will take 20 minutes, the larger pie should bake for 30 minutes.
