noun
poor side dish; humble side dish
A humble expression for a simple or unimpressive side dish, often used self-deprecatingly when offering food.
粗末なお菜ですが、どうぞお召し上がりください。
It's just a humble side dish, but please help yourself.
A polite term for a side dish or accompaniment to rice; お菜 alone is neutral, while 粗末なお菜 is explicitly humble.
Compound of 粗末 (crude, shabby) + お菜 (side dish). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase is conventionally used as a humble set expression.