Combine the coconut milk, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, chiles, bay leaves and pepper in a large nonreactive bowl or resealable plastic freezer bag. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
Place the chicken and marinade in a large lidded pot or Dutch oven over high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to simmer and cook stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender, about 30 minutes.
Heat the broiler. Transfer the chicken pieces to a large bowl, raise the heat under the pot to medium-high and reduce the sauce until it achieves almost the consistency of cream, about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and chiles.
Place the chicken pieces in a roasting pan and place under the broiler for 5-7 minutes, until they begin to caramelize. Remove the pan and turn the chicken, baste with the sauce, and return to the broiler, 3 to 5 minutes more. Remove the chicken from the pan, return the chicken to the sauce, and cook for a few minutes more. Place on a platter and drizzle heavily with the sauce.
Notes
You can replace 1 to 1 the soy sauce with coconut aminos and if you can find it or order it please try to use coconut vinegar in place of the rice wine vinegar.