Here's my rendition of Tonkatsu (Japanese Pork Cutlet or Pork Katsu), coated with crushed butter crackers for that buttery flavour and cooked with an air fryer, thus reducing the amount of oil used. It's easy to prepare, and fast to cook and taste as great.
Using a meat pounder or the back of a knife, pount the pork loin to tenderise it. Note: do this on both sides of the pork loin.
300 g boneless pork loin
Marinate the pork loin by adding 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp Himalayan pink salt, 1 tbsp sesame oil. Rub the marinade all over the pork loin to ensure even coating. Cover and keep in fridge for an hour.
Crush 6-7 butter or cream crackers into fine particles using a food processor.
6-7 butter or cream crackers
Beat the 2 eggs and set aside.
2 eggs
Coat the marinated pork loin evenly with corn starch. Then coat evenly with egg. Then coat generously with crushed butter crackers. Brush a thin layer of cooking oil all over the pork loin. (or you can spray the oil on)
3-4 tbsp corn starch
Pre-heat air fryer at 190C / 374F for 3 minutes. Place pork loin into the pre-heat air fryer and make sure there is no overlapping of the meat. Air fry at 190C / 374F for 12 minutes. Flip the pork loins halfway to ensure even cooking on both sides. The internal temperature of the meat should reach 63C / 145F when it's cooked.
Serve warm with rice and condiments.
Video
Notes
Note: I used the Pagoda brand corn flour I bought in Singapore. It’s a fine white coloured flour. In other parts of the world, it might be called corn starch. Apparently corn flour is a yellow coloured powder made from dried finely ground corn, and corn starch is a fine white coloured powder derived from the starchy part of a corn kernel. Corn starch is mainly used as a thickener or added to meat marinade to help tenderise the meat.