Exploring Life & Business with Cindy Chou (周昀) of The Sound of Cooking®

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Chou (周昀).

Cindy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Food has been an ever-present thread in my life. I remember the rarity of the one meal I’d get each day: a frozen fried chicken TV dinner split with six other kids. I didn’t live at home much as a kid because my parents were too busy running a restaurant, so I bounced between babysitters. Most nights, I felt hunger pangs, watching other kids get picked up by their parents.

Sometimes, I got to visit my dad’s restaurants, and those visits were some of my fondest memories. He would make sure I was fed and let me wander through the kitchen. I watched the cooks toss woks over large flames, poked live crabs with chopsticks, and occasionally got to join the family meals where my dad and the other chefs prepared intricate Chinese and Taiwanese dishes. Those moments were rare but left lasting impressions.

At age six, I finally got to live at home. But even then, I was mostly on my own. That’s when I learned to “cook” to feed myself. Granted, cooking meant microwaving different concoctions of ingredients I could find in the fridge and pantry – I was quite proud when I thought I had invented microwaved steamed eggs.

But everything shifted two years later when my dad passed away from cancer. We lost the restaurant, our home, and most of our belongings due to medical bills. My mom and I relocated to Taipei, where I felt nourished for the first time. Surrounded by street food, night markets, steaming bowls of noodles, and people who loved to share home-cooked meals, that experience deepened my connection to Taiwanese food.

Later, even as I pursued what I thought was a practical career in engineering, I never stopped cooking. Line cook gigs, late-night experiments, undergraduate classes squeezed between 8- to 10-hour shifts. Eventually, I scrapped stability for passion and moved across the country to attend the Culinary Institute of America in NY, starting over in kitchens – staging at Michelin restaurants, cooking and teaching at Haven’s Kitchen (where I got to learn from amazing chefs that I admire), catering events, and private cheffing for families.

Inspired by the opening sequence from the film Eat Drink Man Woman (where a father prepares a feast for his daughters), the cooking sounds instantly transported me back to my dad’s kitchen. I realized it wasn’t just the recipes I’d been missing, but the sounds that elicit some of my most comforting memories.

And now, that’s what I get to share through The Sound of Cooking®: cozy cooking videos, umami-rich recipes, and stories that resonate with the East Asian diaspora and anyone who longs for the kind of food that feels like home.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It hasn’t been a smooth journey, but every challenge has taught me something I carry with me today.

After returning to the US, finances were tight, and we moved often. Supporting my mom meant working from the moment I was old enough, juggling high school, jobs, and later, full-time line cook shifts while pursuing my degree in mechanical engineering. That financial pressure shaped a lot of my decisions.

When I finally chose to move across the country, trading a career in engineering for culinary school and professional cooking, it was a leap to figure out what was missing in my life.

There were plenty of setbacks. My knife bag was stolen the week before I had restaurant stages lined up. My bank account was nearly empty most days. While I was at one of my lowest points, a chef at a Michelin Star restaurant told me, “You have the skills and potential, but this career isn’t for you. Not as a woman in her mid-20s.” Opportunities slipped by because I was deemed “too quiet.” And there were so many more moments like that.

But setbacks have a way of clarifying what you actually want. For me, it wasn’t about bragging rights to working under famous Chefs. It was about sharing dishes that make people feel the way I did at those family meals in my dad’s restaurant.

Even building The Sound of Cooking® has been a journey of wearing every hat myself – chef, dietitian, recipe developer, writer, photographer, videographer, editor. For years, I overthought and second-guessed before I ever hit publish. It’s still an ongoing learning process.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
At The Sound of Cooking®, you’ll find a culinary platform with nourishing, umami-rich Taiwanese and East Asian recipes (thesoundofcooking.com), paired with a cinematic series of cooking videos on YouTube (@thesoundofcooking). My cozy cooking videos highlight the often-overlooked sounds of cooking, storytelling, and professionally developed, tested recipes that can help you recreate – or reimagine – your favorite foods at home. From calming cooking vlogs and food stories to peaceful recipe videos you can trust, it’s all designed to help you find stillness while exploring nostalgic flavors. Whether you grew up with these flavors or are exploring new ones, it’s a space to find inspiration for what and how you’ll cook next.

I recently started a new series called Letters to George, inspired by my late dad, who was a chef. It’s a collection of cozy cooking vlogs where I reimagine the recipes he never got to teach me, while sharing the things I never had the chance to tell him – like writing letters through food. Each episode is a food memoir in motion, blending recipes and reflections into something intimate and heartfelt. As I revisit these nostalgic dishes, I’m learning along the way too – exploring new-to-me techniques, tweaking flavors, and sharing the discoveries I make in the process.

My background as both a chef and a dietitian means the food I teach is not only flavorful and rooted in experience, but also meant to nourish. And while most of my recipes are created with nutrition in mind, I believe health and well-being are about more than nutrients alone. Food fuels us, comforts us, carries cultural significance, and brings people together. That’s why my recipes focus on flavor, nostalgia, and the sheer joy of cooking.

What I’m most proud of is creating something that resonates on both a personal and cultural level. Whether it’s peeling bamboo shoots with ease, making shaved ice that tastes like a childhood summer, or learning ten different ways to cook daikon radish ( https://thesoundofcooking.com/white-daikon-guide ), it means the world to me that The Sound of Cooking® helps people feel empowered to recreate the foods they miss – or explore flavors they never thought they could cook.

I love hearing how the videos and recipes spark memories or inspire confidence in the kitchen. Just last week, someone wrote to say my Taiwanese shaved ice video brought back a sweet childhood memory of time spent with their grandmother in Taiwan. Others have shared that a recipe helped them finally make dumplings like their mom used to, or recreate a popular noodle dish at home that once felt intimidating, with step-by-step visual instructions guiding them through. These stories make it all worth it.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I’d love to share a little something for anyone who loves cozy, nourishing flavors: a free collection of my favorite easy-to-make soups that you can enjoy at home, whether you’re looking for comfort, inspiration, or a bit of culinary adventure. You can grab it here: https://thesoundofcooking.com/subscribe

These are a few of the recipes I love to make when I want something that warms the body and soul, and I hope they give you a little calm and inspiration for your own kitchen.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesoundofcooking.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesoundofcooking/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/thesoundofcooking
• Other: https://thesoundofcooking.com/subscribe/

Image Credits
All images: Copyright © 2025 The Sound of Cooking® by Cindy Chou 周昀 @thesoundofcooking. All rights reserved.