Thanks, Christina! I did not know that about kumquats, but I’m happy to know that I made a lucky dish! To answer your question, I pounded the pork loins for three reasons: 1) the original cutlets were not much bigger than the size of my palm and I wanted them to be larger in surface area, 2) it was much easier than slicing them thin, and 3) I wanted them to cook fairly flat and breaking up the fibers in the meat will help keep them from curling.

You can certainly do this with other meats (chicken, beef) although I don’t find that they have the curling problem as much as pork does so it may not be necessary depending upon your recipe. If I’m making a chicken fried steak (on rare occasion!), however, I will pound my cube steak with the spiked end of my mallet to tenderize it. Hope this helps!

I can’t wait to try this recipe. It sounds delicious and my mouth is watering! It’s high in protein and low in fat. Also, cooking with kumquats is genious! I’m not sure if you know this, but kumquats are very lucky in some Asian cultures, hence it is encouraged to eat this fruit around Lunar New Year for some luck throughout the year. So, it looks like you will be very lucky this year of the dragon! Quick question, why did you pound the pork loins? Do you recommend doing this to other meats? When is it necessary?