(From googling)
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夾菜 / 夹菜 / jiā cài refers to using chopsticks or other utensils to pick up food from a plate and move it to one's own or another person's bowl. This is a very common dining gesture in Chinese cuisine and can also be used to describe politely offering food to guests at the table.
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I grew up with fairly strict rules of hygiene, which included using communal chopsticks and serving spoons even when eating with one's own family members.
The mother of my then-colleague Peggy in Taipei was obviously brought up the same way.
The standard Chinese code of behaviour at a meal when a guest is present:
(i) the guest must not be seen to be greedy, so s/he will hold back on helping himself/herself to the dishes in the middle of the table (Chinese style with various dishes shared by everyone),
(ii) the host/hostess must not be seen to be stingy, so s/he will pile up food in the guest's bowl, on top of the rice -- repeatedly throughout the meal.
When fetching food for me, Peggy's mother would use the other end of her chopsticks, AND make sure I was made aware of this, by pointing out each time, "I'm using the other end of my chopsticks."
It's a practice I've taken on board since then (1975 -- prior to that, I was too young to play the hostess role), and which I've always explained to my friends here in the West.
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