Make Your Own Soup: Mum-in- Law's Soup

Ok, this soup has quite a number of ingredients and it tasted really nice, but I'm not too sure who is the lead actress in the soup, so called this Mum-in-law's soup since it's a recipe suggested by my mum-in-law.

Mum-in-law's Soup

• 2 carrots
• 1 lotus root (about 5 inches long)
  
• 1/2 cup of raw cashew nuts
• 1 corn
• a few pieces of dried abalone (optional)
  
• One piece of lean meat (about $3)
• 8 cups of water (need to adjust the water accordingly, if you like it more diluted, add more water)
• Fresh Chinese Yam ("Shan Yao")- about 2 to 3 inches
  

1. Scale the lean meat to get rid of the blood stain. Wash dried abalone in hot water.
   
2. Soak raw cashew nuts in hot water for 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Wash, peel and cut the carrots, lotus root, corn and chinese yam, cut them into big chunks.
4. Put all the ingredients into a pot and pour water. Bring water to boil and lower heat, simmer for about 2 hours and the soup is ready to drink.