Cindy Kay . Red Thai Curry

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)