Soak the rice noodles in room temperature water for 30 minutes to 1 hour until they are limp. If you're in a hurry, warm water will speed this process up, but be careful not to over-soak them.

Remove seeds from dried chilies. You can grind them into a fine powder with a coffee grinder or soak and pound into a paste.

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic into a paste first. Add shallots and ground chilies, pounding into a rough paste.

In a bowl, combine tamarind paste, fish sauce, and water. Stir until mixed.

Heat a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add neutral oil and chili paste, stirring constantly for about 1 minute.

Add palm sugar to the pan and cook until mostly dissolved—this takes about 30 seconds. Pour in the tamarind mixture and bring everything to a boil.

Add shrimp to the sauce and cook for 1 minute, flipping halfway through. Remove the shrimp and set aside.

Toss the soaked noodles into the wok, mixing them until all the sauce is absorbed. If the noodles are chewy, add a splash of water to soften them.

Once the noodles are cooked, add in bean sprouts, garlic chives, shrimp, and most of the crab meat (reserve some for garnish). Toss everything until the bean sprouts are just wilted.

Serve your noodles topped with extra crab, bean sprouts, baby cucumber slices, and a lime wedge on the side.