Interview with Twisted Food: What’s your ultimate hangover food and why?
What’s your ultimate hangover food and why?
“Now, for me, the ultimate hangover food depends on the grade of hangover I have managed to subject myself to. If we’re talking ‘drunk a few too many Proseccos with mum last night’, I will likely be nursing a mid-range, 5/10 kind of hangover the next day. These can be easily eradicated if managed correctly.
The right balance of carbohydrate, fat, sweet, sour, and salty is the way forward. For me, smoked streaky bacon (grilled to a crisp), ketchup, (or if you’re feeling a little spicy, some burnt chilli sauce), crisp lettuce, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and a fried egg within some buttered, toasted bread [is the answer]. There is no way you will not feel better after eating this to soak away the demons from the night before.
If we’re talking ‘out with the lads last night, don’t remember getting home and missing a shoe’ kind of night, this is a whole different ball game.
These 10/10 kinds of hangovers need to be approached with caution and a bacon sandwich – be it delicious – just won’t cut the mustard in this scenario. In my opinion, the full English breakfast was literally created as a remedy for this suffering. Seal the deal with a strong coffee and an ice-cold fresh orange juice and you’ll be right back on track.”
Talk us through the setup
“I’ll be cooking this at home with my fiancée, making her breakfast in an attempt to prove I am not that hungover… I will have eyes bigger than my stomach and cook like I’m cooking for a family of six.
I would then be reminded that she has stopped eating meat, meaning I have cooked six breakfasts for myself. We’ll then head to one of our neighbours near Farang, Franks Canteen in Highbury Barn and order a delicious breakfast there.”
What item on your own menu would you advise hungover customers to order?
“Farang is always packed on a Saturday lunch and I’m banking on about 90 percent of our customers coming in at this time with a hangover.
Interestingly, most people order our Feasting Menu. This is a taster of the whole menu and takes 1.5 / 2 hours to eat, so you can strap in and let us deal with that hangover (bear in mind that you may need some wheels to get home afterwards).
The feast begins with a range of small plates from our glazed Thai IPA fried chicken with fresh lime and burnt chilli dipping sauce, to our turmeric prawn miang bites, with toasted coconut, peanuts, sour fruits, tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar. You then share a whole crispy seabass… [and finally] one of our hand-made Thai curries, made from ingredients flown in weekly, fresh turmeric; curry leaf salted roti bread and jasmine rice to finish.
The feasting menu starts with a cocktail or mocktail of your choice so there is ample opportunity to ‘get back on it’ if you are into that kind of thing. Sometimes the hair of the dog is the smartest way forward.”
Head chef & founder of Farang London restaurant. Cookbook author of ‘Cook Thai’ & ‘Thai in 7’. Chief curry paste basher and co-founder of Payst London.