GAPS Potsticker Soup With Pork, Napa Cabbage, and Shiitake

GAPS potsticker soup puts the savory filling of a potsticker into a bowl of homemade meat stock. Browned pork, soft Napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, ginger, and garlic give it the flavor of a dumpling soup without wrappers, flour, or noodles.

This is the kind of one-pot dinner I appreciate in a busy house: prep everything first, cook the ingredients in a clear order, and finish the bowl without another pan to wash. The cabbage gives the soup body, the mushrooms deepen the broth, and the scallion greens added at the end keep it tasting fresh.

Where Potsticker Soup Fits on GAPS

This is a Full GAPS soup after every included ingredient is introduced and tolerated. Use homemade meat stock made from raw meaty bones and joints. Chicken Meat Stock gives the soup a lighter golden broth, while Beef Meat Stock makes it darker and more robust. Both work with the pork, cabbage, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic.

Coconut aminos belongs at the end, after the heat is turned off. Check the bottle for added sweeteners, starches, soy, or preservatives that do not fit your GAPS kitchen. Soy sauce and tamari are not substitutes here.

Prepare Everything Before the Pork Hits the Pan

Slice one small head of Napa cabbage fairly thin, then cut the long strips into bite-size lengths. Discard the tough shiitake stems and slice the caps. Separate the white and green parts of one bunch of scallions. Grate or mince the fresh ginger and crush or mince the garlic.

Keep the four cups of meat stock measured and ready. Once cooking starts, the pork and vegetables move through the same pan in sequence, so having each ingredient prepared keeps the cabbage from sitting too long or scorching while you catch up.

Brown the Pork and Keep Its Fat

Set a large broad pot or deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the ground pork, one teaspoon sea salt, and one-half teaspoon pure white pepper or ground ginger. Break the meat into small crumbles as it cooks. Lower the heat to medium if the fond darkens too quickly. The pork is ready when no pink remains and the crumbles have browned edges.

Lift the pork into a glass bowl with a slotted spoon and leave the rendered fat in the pan. You need two to three tablespoons total pan fat for the cabbage. If the pork rendered less, add only enough coconut oil or rendered animal fat to reach that amount.

Cook the Cabbage Until Glossy and Partly Translucent

Turn the heat to medium, add the Napa cabbage and one-half teaspoon sea salt, and cook for 15 minutes. Move the cabbage around the pan about every five minutes. At first it will mound above the rim; as it releases moisture, it should collapse, turn glossy, and become partly translucent without browning.

Add the sliced shiitake caps and the final one-half teaspoon salt. Cook for five minutes, stirring every few minutes. The mushrooms should soften and darken while the cabbage stays moist.

Add the Stock and Finish Off Heat

Pour in all four cups meat stock. Return the browned pork, then add the scallion whites, fresh ginger, and garlic. Stir, bring the liquid to a gentle simmer, cover, lower the heat, and simmer slowly for five minutes.

Turn off the heat before stirring in the scallion greens and coconut aminos. The broth should be clear and amber rather than thick, with tender cabbage ribbons, soft mushroom slices, and distinct pork crumbles. Taste and add more sea salt only if the stock needs it.

Serving and Storage

Serve the soup hot in deep bowls, making sure each serving receives pork, cabbage, mushrooms, scallion, and broth. This recipe makes four generous servings. For another one-pot Full GAPS soup with a different flavor profile, try Tom Kha Gai Thai Coconut Chicken Soup.

• Refrigerator: Cool promptly and store in covered glass containers for up to five days.
• Reheat: Warm gently on the stove until steaming, without boiling the vegetables hard.
• Freezer: Freeze in sealed freezer-safe glass with suitable headspace for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.

Recommended Equipment

Use a large broad shallow pot or deep sauté pan that can hold the finished soup, a fitted lid, cutting board, sharp stainless-steel knife, box grater or microplane, wooden or silicone spatula, slotted spoon, glass bowl for the browned pork, and measuring cups and spoons. The method photograph uses the Le Creuset Signature Round Braiser, 3.5-quart, in Artichaut.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use Bone Broth?

Use homemade meat stock during the GAPS period when bone broth has not yet been introduced. Meat stock starts with raw meaty bones and joints and cooks for a shorter time. Bone broth is a later food, delayed for at least the first year and longer when needed.

Can I Use Store-Bought Stock?

Use homemade meat stock for this recipe. Commercial cubes, granules, and packaged broths commonly contain ingredients that do not belong in the formula.

Do I Always Need the Extra Fat?

No. Check the fat left after browning the pork. Add coconut oil or rendered animal fat only when needed to bring the pan total to two or three tablespoons.

Can I Use Ground Ginger Instead of White Pepper?

Yes. Use the same one-half teaspoon measure when seasoning the pork.

Why Add Coconut Aminos After Turning Off the Heat?

Adding it at the end preserves its flavor and keeps the finish easy to adjust. Stir it through, taste the broth, and then decide whether the soup needs more salt.

Why Does the Total Time Say 50 Minutes?

The measured preparation time is about 15 minutes and the cooking steps total about 35 minutes. Together they make about 50 minutes.

GAPS Potsticker Soup Recipe

GAPS Potsticker Soup With Pork, Napa Cabbage, and Shiitake

A one-pot Full GAPS soup with browned pork, soft Napa cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, ginger, garlic, coconut aminos, and homemade meat stock.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Cuisine: Chinese-Inspired, GAPS

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

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• 4 cups homemade meat stock chicken or beef
• 1 3/4 lb Napa cabbage thinly sliced and cut into bite-size lengths
• 1 lb ground pork
• 7 oz shiitake mushroom caps stems discarded, caps thinly sliced
• 1 bunch scallions whites and greens separated and sliced
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos with a GAPS-compatible ingredient label
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger root grated or minced
• 2 cloves garlic crushed or minced
• 2 tsp mineral sea salt divided: 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, and 1/2 teaspoon
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper or ground ginger
• 2 tbsp rendered animal fat or coconut oil use up to this amount only as needed for 2 to 3 tablespoons total pan fat

Equipment

• 1 Le Creuset Signature Round Braiser 3.5-quart Artichaut, or another large broad shallow pot with a fitted lid
• 1 Sharp stainless-steel knife
• 1 Cutting board
• 1 Box grater or microplane
• 1 Wooden or silicone spatula
• 1 Slotted spoon
• 1 Glass bowl for the browned pork

Method

 

1. Measure the meat stock. Slice the Napa cabbage into bite-size lengths, discard the shiitake stems and slice the caps, separate and slice the scallion whites and greens, and prepare the ginger and garlic.
   
2. Heat a large broad shallow pot or deep sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the pork, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and white pepper or ground ginger. Break the meat into small crumbles and cook until no pink remains and the edges are browned, lowering the heat to medium if needed.
3. Lift the browned pork into a glass bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat in the pan.
4. Check the pan fat. Add rendered animal fat or coconut oil only as needed to make 2 to 3 tablespoons total.
5. Turn the heat to medium. Add the Napa cabbage and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook for 15 minutes, moving it around the pan about every 5 minutes, until reduced, glossy, and partly translucent without browning.
   
6. Add the sliced shiitake caps and the final 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the mushrooms soften and darken.
7. Pour in all 4 cups meat stock. Return the pork and add the scallion whites, fresh ginger, and garlic. Stir and bring to a gentle simmer.
8. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer slowly for 5 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat. Stir in the scallion greens and coconut aminos.
10. Taste and add more sea salt only if needed. Serve hot with pork, cabbage, mushrooms, scallions, and broth in every bowl.

Notes

• Full GAPS: Use after every included ingredient is introduced and tolerated.
• Meat stock: Use homemade chicken or beef meat stock made from raw meaty bones and joints, not commercial broth or later-stage bone broth.
• Fat: Add extra fat only when the pork leaves less than 2 to 3 tablespoons in the pan.
• Timing: The source lists 15 minutes prep and 35 minutes cooking; the component total is about 50 minutes.
• Storage: Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months in suitable glass containers.

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Keep More Stock-Based Meals in Rotation

The planned Soups & Stews Cookbook will collect practical GAPS bowls with their stock choices, stage notes, batch sizes, and physical cooking cues. Find current resources in the WFLI shop.