In a large bowl or ziplock bag, combine vinegar, soy sauce, oil, garlic, sugar, black and red pepper, and bay leaves. Place the chicken thighs in the mixture, and coat them well with the sauce. Allow the chicken to marinate for 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Place the chicken and marinade into the inner liner of the Instant Pot. Set Instant Pot at High pressure for 8 minutes. When cook time is complete, allow the pot to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes, and then release all remaining pressure.
Remove chicken thighs and set on a foil-covered sheet pan. Broil under high heat for 3-5 minutes until the skin crisps.
Meanwhile, set the Instant Pot on Sauté and cook until the sauce has bubbled and thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Pour this thickened sauce over the chicken and serve.
Crisping the chicken skin after cooking is the best way to get that crispy skin! If you crisp it before cooking, it will get soggy in the Instant Pot during cook time.
This recipe uses regular soy sauce. Lite often doesn’t mean low salt, just lite colored and thin in consistency. Dark soy sauce is aged longer and has molasses added to it, and tends to be less salty.