Today we're serving up a conversation that is truly rich and layered. My guest is an award-winning audiobook narrator whose voice has carried listeners across galaxies and an extraordinary range of genres — from courtroom thrillers to the tender first pages of a children's story to the electric tension of a literary mystery.
And speaking of galaxies, I actually crossed paths with her as a fellow cast member on the sci-fi podcast The Mysterious CHIRP, where she played Sergeant Boorsha of the Intergalactic Police Force — boarding the CHIRP from the sister ship, The Black Opal.
Originally from the Bay Area in California, her path to audiobook narration unfolded through a deep and lifelong love of literature — long before she ever stepped into a recording booth. She spent years in lecture halls, libraries, and university classrooms, immersed in the world of stories in a very different way.
You see, Cindy Kay — or rather, Dr. Kay — earned her PhD in Comparative Literature from Purdue University, and it was during her twelve years as a university professor that she discovered audiobooks and quickly fell under their spell. Around that same time, she began volunteering to read aloud to children, including kids with ADHD and autism. It took a friend asking, "Did you know you could get paid for this?" for everything to click into place.
Since 2019, Cindy has narrated over 450 audiobooks, working with such prestigious publishers as Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, Tantor, Recorded Books, and Blackstone.
Much like the recipes we share here in the Kitchen, Cindy's characters are each one-of-a-kind — and today, she's bringing her family's Red Thai Curry to the table.
So let's warm things up by welcoming Dr. Cindy Kay aboard The Voice Kitchen!
Thai Red Curry (45 min cooking time)
Begin cooking Jasmine rice.
Ingredients:
2lbs of meat; beef, pork or chicken
Red or Prik king curry paste, 1-2 small cans, to taste (1 can is light; 2 is bold)
Vegetable oil, 2 TBsp
Chicken broth, 2 cups
Shallots, 1
Onion, 1
Fresh Ginger, Tbsp
Cilantro or Thai basil, 1 cups, chopped
5-6 Kaffir lime leaves
Fish sauce, 6 Tbsp
Sugar, 6 Tbsp
Coconut cream, 2 cups, approx.
Method:
Pan sear curry paste in oil until fried.
Saute shallot, onion in oil until glazed, then add ginger. Set aside.
Cook the meat. For beef or pork, cut into thin strips and seared until cooked about 2/3 through; if chicken, then cut into thin strips and cooked completely.
In a separate pan, make a slurry out of the fish sauce and sugar, and caramelize. Add chicken broth, curry paste and lime leaf.
Combine everything in a pot, then add coconut cream and Thai basil/cilantro. Adjust to taste.
Serves 8-10.
To contact Cindy:
Business email Address: cindy@cindykayvo.com
Business website: cindykayvo.com
Instagram: @cindykay_vo
Facebook: @cknarrates
If you're a voice talent and would like to join me as a guest, email me at: thevoicekitchen@gmail.com
Follow me on Instagram @thevoicekitchen
To contact me for my voiceover services: www.cherylholling.com
I'd like to thank the following voice talent who so graciously contributed their voices to the intro of the kitchen:
Jodi Krangle, Ann Lucente-Italian, Jen Keefe, Jim Edgar, Lorena Belcher, Rob Reider, Ann Lucente-English, Mark Holling, Anne Ganguzza, Jim Cooper, Rhonda Phillips, Bernie Sanders…not really, it's Mark Holling.
Outro music specific to this episode: 'Thai Jam' by Toby Darling
Intro/Outro Music: 'Jazzy Cooking Show' by FMT
Thank you for listening and please remember to like, follow and share!
I look forward to welcoming another VO chef in the next episode of 'The Voice Kitchen'.
