Surviving the Post-Drinking Blues

So, you wake up in a panic... why oh why does it feel like someone tried to open my head with a meat cleaver? Why, please, is my mouth like sand and my stomach performing death-defying leaps? And then you remember. That's right, I drank my body-weight in beer. 

I may indeed have overindulged yesterday, due to arrival of the Cambridge Beer Festival featuring over 100 (mainly) very fine ales, cider and wine.

It was well worth it but getting your food intake right, can help a great deal in smoothing the road to recovery. I am not suggesting that cooking of any kind should be attempted until the latter symptoms have died away but this recipe is what I crave after that, when the hunger sets in and your body is desperate for proper nutrition. 

The recipe is my own creation and it utilises classic Asian flavours that are both comforting and reviving. The base is a fine broth and I have used dumplings but you could easily substitute these for noodles or anything else that you fancy. Prep and cooking time = 15 minutes.

Wonton Destruction (Serves 2 hungry people)

1/2 chilli

3 spring onions
1 clove garlic
4cm piece fresh ginger
bunch fresh coriander
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 pints stock
(chicken or veg)
1 pack Wonton Dumplings

• Bring your stock to a gentle simmer and add the dumplings. They will take about 12 minutes to cook and all the other ingredients need only 5/6minutes so that they keep their fresh vibrant flavours.
• While they bubble away cut the onions, coriander stalks and chilli in fine strips. 
• You can just chop the garlic and ginger too but I think it's easier to grate them using a mid/fine grater. It's quicker but also it becomes paste-like and will dissolve into the broth. 
• After the dumplings have almost cooked add the ginger, chilli and onions.
• After 12 minutes the dumplings and vegetables will be cooked. Turn the heat off and add the coriander leaves, sesame oil and soy sauce.
• Leave for around a minute so that the flavours infuse and the soup becomes a drinkable temperature.

                                 

Happy Bank Holiday Everyone!