Another great way of using up the Chinese New Year nian gao by wrapping nian gao, yam (taro), and sweet potato pieces in mini spring roll wrapper and then air-fried or deep-fried if you prefer.
Cut the nian gao. Don't use the freshly made one. They need to be refrigerated so they are hardened. Cut into about 2 inches in length. Do the same with the sweet potatoes and taro
Put the sweet potatoes and taro pieces in a steamer and steam for 8-10 minutes or until fork- tender but not mushy
Place one piece of spring roll sheet on a working surface. Place one nian gao, sweet potato and taro pieces on the lower end of the sheet. You can stack them up or sandwich the nian gao in between the sweet potato and taro pieces, it's up to you how you want to do this. Brush with the cornstarch solution on the spring roll wrapper. Fold the bottom part near to you up and then fold the two sides over and gently press to seal. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients until you get 40 mini pieces
To air fry:
Lightly brush the spring roll pieces with a bit of oil all over. Arrange on the air fryer basket and air fry at 200 C (400 F) for about 2-3 minutes, check after about 60 seconds and see. Fry until they are golden brown and crispy. The temperature and time are just for reference. You may need to adjust accordingly
To deep fry:
Preheat about 1 inch of oil. When you put a skewer in the oil, there will be bubbles around it. The oil is ready, but don't fry yet. Lower to medium and wait for about 3 minutes. Then fry the nian gao spring rolls until they are golden brown and crispy. Remove and place on an absorbent paper towel
They will stay crispy for few hours, but don't expect them to stay crispy for days because there is moisture in the filling too. Simply re-crisp in the air fryer or oven for few minutes and they are as good as new