TikTok creator known for fire escape cooking series serves up 2 dishes to try at home
Check out his butter chicken mac and cheese and pesto chicken cutlet sandwich.
We've all heard the phrase if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. But one food creator is quite literally taking his talents to the street and going out on a limb whipping up a variety of dishes in his New York City apartment to serve food to hungry passersby from his fire escape.
Joe Vadakkedam has been sharing culinary concoctions online for the better part of a year, but picked up steam on social media with a viral video-turned series where he asks people on the street what dish they'd like him to make, which he then plates up from his street-facing rod iron fire ladder.
"The [first] video saw close to 1 million views and we found our niche," he told "Good Morning America." "Now we cook for all types of people -- from strangers on the street walking by -- followers, neighbors, and all walks of life."
Vadakkedam said his interest in cooking started at a young age.
"I was always helping my mom in the kitchen cook from chopping vegetables to rolling out dough to sauteeing vegetables -- as I got older, I started to learn a lot of the South Indian dishes she makes such as fish curry, chicken curry, and Biryani," he said.
He continued, "From there I started diving into Italian and Asian cuisine and plenty more quickly after."
As for how his perspective has taken off, especially on TikTok, he said, "I think it's a great mix of entertainment, cooking, and my voiceovers -- the videos give a reason for the viewer to stick around till the end for a moment of truth to see if the person on the street is going to like the food or not."
While other home cooks may not have a chance to stroll past his perch and get a taste firsthand, Vadakkedam shared a couple inventive riffs on tried and true favorites below.
Butter Chicken Mac & Cheese
Serving Size: 4-6
Ingredients
Chicken Marinade
4 chicken thighs
8-10 garlic cloves smashed (mortar & pestle)
1 inch of ginger smashed (mortar & pestle)
1 small green chili smashed (mortar & pestle) (subsite 1 habanero or 1 small long hot)
3/4 cup whole fat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoon of melted butter
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder
1 tablespoon of Garam Masala
1/2 Lime juice squeezed
Butter Chicken Cheese Sauce
2 tablespoon butter
5 pieces Garlic
1/2 cup milk
1/2-1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon falt
3/4 large can Tomato puree (San Marzano 28.oz)
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tablespoon kasoori methi
1 cup Cheddar (3/4 for sauce + 1/4 for topping)
1 cup Parmesan ( 3/4 for sauce + 1/4 for topping)
3/4 cup Gouda (sauce)
1 cup Mozzarella (3/4 for sauce + 1/4 for topping)
Topping: 1 box of Elbow Pasta
2 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
4 tablespoon Butter
Cilantro for finish
Directions
Boil elbow pasta 1 minute under al dente. Strain and add some oil on the pasta to make sure it doesn't stick.
Add all the ingredients in the chicken marinade together and let chicken sit in the fridge for as long as possible to marinate. Ideally 24 hours is perfect but 30 minutes is fine. Don't cube up the chicken, leave it whole.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees F in a deep dish or until internal temp reached 165. A good cue for doneness is when all the juices have left the chicken. Don't throw away that water/sauce in the pan, we will use it later.
Take out the cooked chicken and let it sit for 10 minutes to continue cooking and cool down. Shred up all the chicken.
Now it's time to cook the Butter Chicken Cheese sauce. Get a sauce pan on medium heat and add in 2 tablespoon of butter and 5 cloves of garlic minced. Cook down till garlic is slightly browned.
Add in your tomato puree and cook for 2 minutes. Add in your heavy cream and milk. Start with 1/2 cup of each here. If your sauce is very thick or too red, add in more heavy cream going up to a total of 1 cup. Add in honey and mix till we’ll combined.
Simmer for about 3-4 minutes until the sauce is well combined and thickened up.
Turn the flame to low (the lowest you can go), and add in your cheese 1/4 cup at time for each of Cheddar, Parmesan, Gouda, and Mozzarella. Continue to the whisk quickly as you add in the cheese so the cheese can melt and not clump up. Taste the sauce here, you may need more Parmesan or Mozzarella depending on how acidic your tomatoes are. Feel free to add more if you like! You should add in 3/4 cup of each Cheddar, Parmesan, Gouda, and Mozzarella.
Keep the flame on for low and add the chicken into the sauce. Make sure to get all the juices from the chicken in there as well because this will change the flavor. This is where you want to finally taste for salt. Check and add if needed. I usually will add about a tablespoon of salt here but just use that as a guide. Add small amounts at a time to not over salt your sauce.
Add cilantro and Kasoori Methi leaves into the sauce and mix. Taste for salt.
In a separate bowl, add 2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs and 4 tablespoon of melted butter and mix until the breadcrumbs has soaked up all the butter.
Mix the Butter Chicken Cheese Sauce and Macaroni in oven safe dish.
Top with the Mozzarella, Cheddar, and Parmesan. Then top it with the Panko breadcrumbs mixture and pop it into the oven at 350 degrees F for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Top with cilantro and enjoy!!
Pesto Chicken Cutlet Sandwich
Ingredients
2-3 Ciabatta bread
1 ball fresh mozzarella
1/2 cup roasted red peppers
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
Pesto sauce
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoon Extra-virgin Olive Oil
1/ cup Parmigiano Reggiano
2 cups basil leaves
1 1/2 cloves garlic (toasted)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoon of juice from a lemon
1 ice cube
Chicken Cutlets
4-5 chicken breast sliced and thinned
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon each salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika
4 Eggs
3 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper
1 tablespoon each garlic powder, onion powder
1/2 tablespoon each paprika, basil, oregano
2 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil - enough to pan fry chicken
4-5 tablespoon butter
Directions
For the pesto:Toast the pine nuts and garlic and set aside.
Remove the basil from the stem and keep only the leaves. Wash, dry, and set aside.
In a food processor, add in your garlic, pine nuts, salt pepper, and lemon juice until well coarsely chopped.
Add in the basil leaves and pulse until combined and the paste starts to form.
While the food processor is running, stream in the olive oil until well combined. Use half a cup.
Add in the parmesan reggiano cheese and pulse.
Add in a touch more olive oil if needed till your desired consistency is reached. This is where you can use the 2 tablespoon or more if needed.
Taste for salt and adjust as needed.
For the chicken cutlets:
Slice the chicken breast into halves and pound it out with a mallet or rolling pin to get thin slices. About ½ inch thick.
First Breading Station: Add flour into a separate bowl and add in ½ tablespoon salt, ½ tablespoon black pepper, ½ tablespoon garlic powder, ½ tablespoon paprika. Mix and set aside. First part of your breading station.
Second Breading Station: In a separate bowl, crack in 4 eggs, 3 tablespoon water, and a ¼ teaspoon of salt. Mix and set aside.
Third Breading Station: In a separate bowl, add in bread crumbs, paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, dried oregano, dried basil, and parmesan. Mix and set aside.
Take your sliced and thinned chicken and start on the breading station. Start with the seasoned flour, then the egg wash, then the breadcrumbs. Make sure to really push in the bread crumbs to get a good coating.
Continue to do this for all pieces of chicken and set aside.
In a saucepan, heat up some enough olive oil to pan fry the chicken on a medium low flame. The whole bottom should be covered. Place down your chicken breast in the olive oil.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Cook the other side for 1 minute and add in your butter. Continue to baste and cook the chicken for another minute until the side is golden brown.
Flip the chicken once last time and baste for a final 30 seconds.
Remove and rest on a wire rack when the chicken is done cooking or an internal temperature of 165 degrees F- chicken cutlets done
To assembled the sandwich: Spread 1 tablespoon of pesto on the toasted ciabatta bread, melting some fresh mozzarella on the chicken cuttles, adding 1 tablespoon of roasted red peppers and 1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes.
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