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1. Place the chicken, stock, peppercorns, bay leaf, and the salt in a large stockpot. Bring just to a boil, skimming foam from the surface, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, 9 to 12 minutes for breast pieces and 12 to 18 minutes for legs and thighs.
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2. Remove chicken from stock. Once it is cool enough to handle, slip off skin and pull meat from bones, then shred meat into bite-size pieces. Strain stock through a sieve into a clean saucepan.
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3. Meanwhile, toast the chiles in a dry medium skillet over high heat until fragrant and charred, about 1 minute on each side. Let cool a bit, then split chiles lengthwise and scrape out seeds; discard seeds. Put chiles in a bowl and cover with warm water to soften, about 20 minutes (do not drain). If necessary, weight chiles with another bowl to keep them submerged.
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4. Heat broiler with rack about 5 inches below heat source. Lightly oil tomatoes and broil until charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Let cool briefly, then coarsely chop.
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5. Using the same skillet as above, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute onion and garlic until translucent, about 3 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking. Add the tomatoes and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in chiles and soaking liquid.
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6. Allow mixture to cool slightly before pureeing in a blender until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve, pressing with a flexible spatula to extract as much liquid as possible (discard solids).
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7. Add puree to fortified stock and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, to allow the flavors to blend. Add shredded chicken and cook just to heat through, then stir in lime juice.
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8. Ladle soup into serving bowls and serve garnishes in individual bowls alongside.
