Crispy Ramen Fried Chicken is fried to crispy, crunchy perfection and served with a spicy and tangy dipping sauce. It’s a delicious, filling meal or snack that the entire family will clamor for. Let’s just say, my husband loved this dish as much as my teenager.

Crispy ramen fried chicken piled on a black plate and garnished with sliced green onions.

You may think you know everything there is to know about fried chicken, but trust us, you’ve never seen anything like this before! Tender chicken pieces are fried in a batter fortified with the crunchy noodles and the result is irresistible.

Using ramen noodles as a crunchy coating, this dish combines the sweet and savory flavors of fried chicken with the salty umami of ramen noodles in one incredible bite.

Fried to perfection, this crispy chicken ramen recipe will have your taste buds doing backflips! It’s an easy recipe that’s always a crowd pleaser.

What is ramen crusted fried chicken?

I’m sure you’re familiar with the classic Southern style fried chicken that’s dunked in a flour-based batter. And you’ve probably had fried chicken coated in breadcrumbs, cornflakes, or panko.

Ramen Crusted Fried Chicken takes the concept even further, coating tender chicken with ramen noodles for a crispy, crunchy fried chicken that’s on a whole new level.

This recipe uses two packages of ramen noodles to give it a crisp and salty crust when fried. It works great with any type of chicken, from chicken wings to boneless chicken breast strips or boneless chicken thighs.

High angle shot of a plate of ramen coated fried chicken.

Why you’ll love ramen fried chicken

Coating chicken with instant ramen noodles and frying it may sound unusual, but you’ll love how the noodles make for a super crunchy —and flavorful!—coating for fried chicken.

Chicken and ramen noodles make a great pairing, especially when fried together. Using the dried ramen noodles as a breading, in place of panko or other breadcrumbs for instance, gives them an extra-crisp crust.

You can serve these crispy ramen fried chicken wings with whatever dipping sauce you like. The recipe below includes a simple sriracha and rice vinegar sauce, but you could also use buffalo sauce, sweet chile sauce, or BBQ sauce.

These chicken wings with a crust of ramen noodles make a great snack or appetizer. Or you can use boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs and serve it as a main dish with salad and rice.

Overhead shot of the ingredients needed to make ramen fried chicken

Ingredients You Need

If you’ve got chicken and a couple of packs of ramen bouncing around your pantry, then you’re halfway there. A few more pantry ingredients and you’ll be all set. Here’s what you need:

Chicken wings—Use the small “party wings” if you can. You can also substitute boneless, skinless chicken pieces (use chicken breasts or chicken thighs, cut into strips)
Ramen noodles—Make sure you use the instant noodles here. You can use any flavor of ramen you happen to have on hand. I usually use chicken flavor. Crush the dry noodles up to replace panko breadcrumbs and make a crispy coating.
Ramen seasoning packet—This gives the chicken that salty, umami flavor that makes instant ramen so popular. I usually use instant chicken ramen for this recipe, but again, whatever flavor ramen you have will work. Use the seasoning from one noodle packet and discard the other or save it for another use.
Cornstarch—Gives your fried chicken crunch and a nice golden-brown color.
Baking powder—Helps make your chicken fry up nice and crisp.
Salt & pepper—Essential for flavor.
All-purpose flour—You could substitute gluten-free flour, such as rice flour, if necessary.
Sparkling water or club soda—This keeps your batter light.
Oil for frying—Use any neutral-flavored, high smoke point oil like peanut oil, safflower oil, sunflower seed oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil.
Green onions—For garnish (optional).
Sriracha—This gives a spicy kick to your dipping sauce.
Rice wine vinegar—Tames the sriracha, providing tartness and balance to the dipping sauce.

A white bowl with crispy ramen and fried chicken.

A green towel is seen on a concrete surface, alongside a bowl of flour waiting to be used in frying crispy ramen fried chicken.

How to Make Ramen Crusted Fried Chicken

Ramen crusted fried chicken is as easy to make as any other fried chicken recipe. You are simply replacing breadcrumbs, cornflakes, or other breading ingredients with crushed ramen noodles. Here’s how to do it:

Crush the dry ramen noodles and put them in a bowl.
In a second bowl, combine the cornstarch, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
In a third bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, sparkling water, and the ramen seasoning packet.
Fill a high-sided pot with about 4 inches of oil and heat it up, nice and hot.
Working in small batches, dunk each chicken wing first in the dry coating mixture, and then in the wet batter, making sure it is well coated with the mixture. (Reserve the wet batter as you’ll use it again later.)
Drop the coated chicken wings into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd the pot, and fry until the outside is golden brown.
Once all the chicken pieces are fried, dunk them again into the wet batter mixture and then into the dry, crushed ramen noodles to coat well.
Once coated, add chicken pieces into the hot oil again and fry until golden brown and crisp. Again, you’ll need to cook them in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot.
Make a dipping sauce by mixing the sriracha and vinegar together in a small bowl.
Garnish the fried chicken with the green onions and serve immediately with the dipping sauce on the side.

A person dipping crispy fried chicken into a bowl of sauce.

Variations

The recipe includes a simple sriracha-rice vinegar dipping sauce, or you can substitute Sriracha Ranch, buffalo sauce, sweet chile sauce, hoisin sauce, a simple mix of soy sauce and chile crisp, fish sauce with fresh chiles, or whatever your favorite dipping sauce is.

You can also vary this recipe by changing up the garnish. Instead of green onions, sprinkle the fried chicken with toasted sesame seeds. Or stir fry sliced fresh hot chiles and diced red bell pepper in a hot wok with a bit of sesame oil and sprinkle those over the top of the fried chicken.

You can top the ramen fried chicken with different seasoning mixes, too. Try Chinese five-spice powder, Japanese togarashi or shichimi togarashi, red pepper flakes, Szechuan Pepper Salt, or any other seasoning mix you like.

Tips for Success

Use a high-sided pot—I like to use a heavy saucepan or Dutch oven rather than a skillet for deep frying. because the higher sides help contain the oil and prevent splatters from ending up all over your stovetop.
Serve this ramen fried chicken immediately, while it is still hot and crisp. If you have leftovers (what?!), store them in the fridge and then reheat them in the oven or, even better, and air fryer.
If you want to infuse the chicken itself with a bit more flavor, you can marinate it briefly in soy sauce or low-sodium soy sauce with a splash of rice wine vinegar and chopped fresh ginger and/or garlic.

ramen fried chicken in a black bowl with a hand picking up a piece.

What to serve with it

You can serve this ramen fried chicken as a quick tasty snack or a delicious meal.

Serve it with its dipping sauce as an appetizer or snack. Or serve it as a quick and easy meal with Coleslaw or an Asian-style salad like Green Papaya Salad. Fresh salads make a nice counterpoint to the richness of the fried chicken.

Or go with a simple steamed vegetable like broccoli, bok choy, or string beans or green beans.

More Asian noodle recipes you’ll love

If you’re looking for more Asian noodle recipes, check out my Spicy Miso Ramen, Singapore Noodles, Beef Yakisoba, Burmese Garlic Noodles, Sesame Noodles, or Vegetarian Dan Dan Noodles.