Uzbek Chak-Chak Honey and Sesame Fried Dough

About This Recipe

Chak-chak is a beloved sweet found across Uzbekistan and much of Central Asia and the Volga region, made from small, egg-based dough pieces deep-fried until light and crisp, then bound together while warm with a honey syrup that hardens slightly as it cools, forming a mounded, textured confection that's cut into slices to serve. It's a fixture at weddings and celebrations, often shaped into an elaborate mound or tower as a centerpiece dessert. The dough itself is simple — flour, egg and a little sugar — rolled thin and cut into small strips or tiny balls, which puff and crisp quickly in hot oil due to their small size. The honey syrup, cooked to a specific consistency where a drop holds a soft ball shape in cold water, is the trickiest part: undercooked syrup won't bind the pieces together properly, while overcooked syrup turns brittle and hard rather than pleasantly chewy. Working quickly while the syrup is still hot and the fried dough is warm is essential, pressing everything together into a mound while it's still pliable, since the whole mixture firms up rapidly as it cools. A scatter of toasted sesame seeds, sometimes alongside chopped nuts, adds crunch and a nutty aroma to the finished sweet.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 3 cupsall-purpose flour
• 3eggs
• 2 tbspsugar
• 0.25 tspfine sea salt
• 3 cupsvegetable oil(for deep-frying)
• 1.5 cupshoney
• 0.5 cupsugar(for the syrup)
• 3 tbspsesame seeds(toasted)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dough

   Combine flour, eggs, sugar and salt into a firm, smooth dough. Knead 5 minutes, cover, and rest 20 minutes.

2. 2

   Cut the dough

   Roll the dough thin and cut into small strips about the size of a matchstick, or pinch off tiny balls the size of a pea.

3. 3

   Fry the dough pieces

   Heat oil to 175°C (350°F) and fry the dough pieces in batches, stirring, until puffed and light golden, about 2 minutes per batch. Drain well.

4. 4

   Make the honey syrup

   Heat honey and sugar in a pot until melted and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes, testing until a drop in cold water forms a soft ball.

   Don't overcook the syrup — it should be pourable and slightly sticky, not fully hardened, or it won't coat and bind the fried dough properly.

5. 5

   Combine while warm

   Working quickly, pour the warm fried dough into the honey syrup and toss to coat thoroughly, adding the sesame seeds.

6. 6

   Mound and set

   Turn the coated mixture out onto a lightly oiled plate or mold, pressing firmly into a mound while still warm. Let cool and firm up for at least 1 hour before slicing to serve.

Variations

• •

  Add chopped walnuts or almonds to the mixture along with the sesame seeds for extra crunch.

• •

  Shape into individual small mounds instead of one large one for easier serving at parties.

• •

  Use a mix of honey and sugar syrup if pure honey syrup sets too hard for your taste.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks — chak-chak keeps well and is often made ahead of celebrations for exactly this reason.

Frequently Asked Questions