Whenever I find myself not knowing the English name of this or that plant or animal, I am reminded of a former help. She was obsessive about such things, and insisted on calling the lowly kangkong water convolvulus, kitong rabbitfish, and bago Spanish joint fir — the more exotic or ridiculous it sounded, the more she glommed on to it.
Speaking of kitong, the more proper name is mottled rabbitfish. That’s to distinguish it from little rabbitfish that’s a staple in Filipino breakfast — danggit to you and me. Then there’s tagbago, which looks like kitong, but with spots and smears of pale gold. That’s barhead rabbitfish, beloved by my father for its “cleaner” smell and taste compared to kitong.
Should you really bother to learn this stuff? If you are feeding someone as finicky as my father, perhaps. “Is that kitong?” a female voice said over my shoulder at the market yesterday.
“Tagbago,” I said.
“Same,” the vendor insisted.
Whatever. Between him and me, who do you think she was more inclined to believe? Besides, who was I to complicate her life? If you can’t tell the difference between kitong and tagbago — never mind their proper English names — maybe it’s because you have never needed to. Some days I may even envy you.
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