There’s something about rich meat broth that works wonders in both preventing and curing hangovers, which may be why ramen shops are so popular in the post-binge wee hours of the morning. A delicious and nutritious alternative to ramen is seollungtang, a popular Korean beef-bone soup that works wonders in settling your stomach after a long night of drinking, but is also delicious pretty much any time of day.
The traditional Korean hangover cure is haejang gook, a savory, hearty soup made from beef bones, Korean soybean paste and congealed ox blood. But cubes of solid congealed beef blood are an acquired taste. Seollungtang, however, holds more universal appeal. Made by boiling beef bones for hours, then adding some slices of cooked beef and potato starch noodles, seollungtang is a delicious, satisfying soup often served with nothing more than a bowl of rice and a side of ggakddoogi (turnip) kimchi.
At Seoul Ddookbaegi, located in Akasaka and open 24 hours a day, the soup is a perfect milky white color, served with generous chunks of tender beef and topped with sliced scallions. Order a bowl, add a little bit of the flaky sea salt in a jar on the table to taste, and dig in.
– Deb
Seoul Ddookbbaegi (no English sign, look for a gigantic bowl outside the storefront)
2-13-17 Akasaka, Minato-ku
