If you want your kare-kare to appear more appetizing, saute achuete in oil to extract its color. Remove the achuete seeds before adding it to the dish.
If you don't want your dish to be too salty, it is safer to use patis (fish sauce) because salt have sediments that are usually left at the bottom of the saucepan.
Fish paste (bagoong) can be bought in bottles or you can saute it yourself and serve in a separate saucer together with your delicious and healthy kare-kare dish.