Papaya - Du Du?The papaya originated in Central America, and came to the Philippines during the Spanish occupation of this country. The fruit eventually spread throughout South-East Asia. Now is grown everywhere in Viet Nam, especially some is grown in the hard land normally sweeter than the others. The papaya tree bears only either male or female flowers with the female tree producing the fruits. Consequently, the male tree must be close by to pollinate the female flowers.
The fruits are large, weighing up to 9 kg and often look like a large squash. The skin is thin like those of the watermelon and turns from green to yellow and orange as the fruit ripens. The flesh of the papaya may be yellow, orange, or reddish orange and has a consistency of a very ripe (soft) cantaloupe. Papayas are sweet and are used as dessert and fruit shake.
In Vietnam, a popular dish using green papaya is "go?i du du? bo` kho^", a salad like dish with shredded green papaya and shredded beef jerky eaten with a special hot sauce.
