Koreangukbaphangover

Korean hangover soup

"best bean sprout gukbap for hangover"

By Jaedon Lee, April 10, 2025

Korean hangover soup

ingredients

  • Dried poolack (Hwangtae)
  • Bean sprouts
  • Sesame oil
  • Fish sauce
  • Salt
  • Green onion
  • Spicy green pepper

Hangover? I can help you

Everyone has their own go-to hangover cure, right?

For me, if the hangover’s light, I usually crave something like burgers, pizza, or tacos. But when it’s a heavy one… only a steaming bowl of soup or something cold and refreshing like cold noodle will do.

One of the most popular hangover soups in Korea is Hwangtae Kongnamul Soup – a clear, spicy soup made with dried pollack and bean sprouts. Both are known for helping with hangovers.

So, after a night of one-too-many drinks, my boyfriend looked like he could really use something warm and spicy to get him back on track. I whipped this up for him, and here’s the simple recipe I used!

🍽️ Ingredients

  • Dried pollack (Hwangtae)
  • Bean sprouts
  • Sesame oil
  • Fish sauce
  • Salt
  • Green onion
  • Spicy green pepper

ingredients

beansprouts

beansprouts and dried pollack in water

How to Make It

  1. Soak the dried pollack in water for about 10 minutes, then cut it into bite-sized pieces.

dried pollack in water

  1. In a hot pot (I used a Korean earthenware pot), add some sesame oil and lightly stir-fry the pollack.

stir frying pollack

  1. Pour in water and add the bean sprouts.

beansprouts added

  1. Season with fish sauce for umami and adjust salt to taste.

If you have salted mini shrimp, even better! (optional) adding salted mini shrimp

adding fish sauce

  1. Once it starts to boil, toss in the chili peppers and green onions for that final spicy kick.

adding green onions

adding peppers

And just like that, you have yourself a clear and spicy hangover soup! One sip of this hot broth and you can feel the hangover slowly melting away.

soup result

bollack close up image

Honestly, I don’t just make this when someone’s hungover—sometimes I crave it just because it’s so light, comforting, and full of flavor. If you’re curious about Korea’s classic hangover soup, Hwangtae Kongnamul Guk is 100% worth trying.

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