菜
cài · HSK 1
dish
🥬 艹 (grass/plant radical) + 采 (pick) = greens you pick
The top 艹 marks plants; the bottom 采 means to pick or gather. So 菜 is literally picked plants — vegetables, greens, and by extension any cooked dish or course on the menu.
菜 — grass radical 艹 + 采 (pick)
菜 combines the grass radical 艹 (plants) with 采, which depicts a hand picking fruit from a tree and also supplies the sound. Originally meaning edible plants one gathers, it came to mean vegetables, and by extension any dish or cuisine.